The Dark in Sunshine
by Anonymous Skrtle
Summary: Carlos loves pranking a bit too much. Kendall, James, and Logan decide it's time for them to end Carlos's pranking by playing a prank on him themselves. But when their prank goes horribly wrong, and none of them can fix their broken friend. Carlos angst
1. Perfect?

_**Chapter 1- **_

Carlos Garcia was a prankster. He loved pranking people to no end. He loved watching their faces when they realize they'd just been pranked. He absolutely loved it.

So when he put glue in James's Cuda man spray, James was furious. He freaked out about his hair all morning, claiming that it would turn white and sticky by the end of the day. Carlos just laughed and smirked on the whole car ride there, laughing at James. James kept glaring at Carlos, but Carlos didn't care. He knew James would forgive him soon. And James did, exactly 3 hours later, when he figured out that his hair wasn't changing color and the glue could be washed off in the shower. But James was still angry that he had to buy new man spray. That stuff was expensive.

It was absolutely knee slapping when Carlos swapped math textbooks with Logan's. Logan copied down all the wrong problems and got a huge red "F." He was all depressed and sad for two whole days. Carlos had to admit; it _had_ been kind of funny. But he kinda felt guilty, too, and he tried to apologize to Logan. Logan wouldn't come out of his room. Carlos just shrugged it off. Sure enough, Logan came out all normal and said he'd already forgiven Carlos. But Logan was still angry because he knew the "F" had turned his average grade of an A into a C. Logan had never gotten a "C" average before, never.

It took longer for Kendall to forgive Carlos when the Latino put chicken liver in Jo's hair and told her that Kendall did it. Jo smelled horrible and acted horribly the next few days, and she wouldn't believe Kendall when he said that it truly wasn't him. A few weeks later, when Kendall finally forced Carlos to tell Jo, Jo forgave Kendall but she was annoyed with Carlos for a few days. She forgave Carlos when he pretended to cry in front of her.

The whole Palm Woods was totally pissed after Carlos committed more of his 'famous' pranks. Carlos glued Tyler's butt to the toilet seat, hired a clown to push the Jennifers into the pool, ruined Camille's audition for a new show by stink bombing the whole stadium, and sold all of Katie's stock on her stock market site. Everyone was totally annoyed at Carlos, but they didn't have the heart to be mad at him for long. Carlos was the most innocent thing there was, and no one could resist making him sad or upset.

But Kendall, James, and Logan knew it was time to end Carlos's pranks.

"Dude! No offense, but I'm totally sick of Carlos right now!" Logan snapped, still stressed out about his low grade. James nodded, putting his hands on his hair, which didn't feel as smooth anymore.

"He ruined my hair. It's limp and lifeless now!" He yelled, starting to panic. Kendall put his hand on James's shoulder, stopping him from fainting or something dramatic like that.

"We have _got_ to stop this!" He declared. Logan and James nodded quickly.

"What better way is there than to play the biggest prank on the biggest prankster?" Kendall said, smirking. James's eyes lit up, and Logan's face brightened up. What a perfect idea.

"Kendall, sometimes you're way too smart for your own good…" Logan started, trailing off when Kendall glared at him. But in the inside, he was proud of himself for coming up with such a great, non-violent solution. This would benefit everyone.

"Oooh! I know! We cold stink bomb his room," James started. Logan joined in.

"Or make him do all our homework!"

"Or hit him with pies!"

"Or hide his helmet!"

"Or-" Kendall interrupted James with an annoyed huff.

"I already know what we're going to do." He stated, and then told the other two what his plan was. By the end of it, James and Logan were already getting excited. This was going to be the best prank ever. Carlos would never prank them again after this.

_Line line line line_

Carlos was exhausted. It had been a very tiring day at Rocque Records, and Carlos was feeling sleep and tired and weary. He kept on tripping over the cracks on the sidewalks, and his eyes kept drooping. Kendall took one look at his friend and knew it was time. It was a bright and sunny day, but sooner or later, it was going to be dark.

Kendall nudged Logan, who nudged James. They all knew it was time.

"Carlos, buddy? You want me to carry you?" James asked gently. Carlos nodded tiredly, not even aware of it when James picked him up and carried his bridal style. He fell asleep almost immediately, not remembering another time he was so tired.

"Where should we drop him?" James asked quietly, not wanting to wake Carlos up.

"Few more blocks." Kendall replied.

James smirked triumphantly. "I knew those sleeping pills would help," He grinned.

Logan looked skeptical. "I kinda think this is a bad idea, guys." He said.

Kendall rolled his eyes and patted Logan at the back. "Chillax, Logan. Everything's going to be fine. We'll come pick him up in 45 minutes. Nothing's gonna happen, man." He assured Logan. Logan seemed to relax and think about his low grade in math, and decided this was for the best. Carlos had to learn his lesson.

"Okay, I guess.." Logan trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"Here." Kendall commanded a few minutes later. James sighed in relief and dropped the heavy weight in his arms onto the ground. The three worked together to move Carlos right smack dab next to a spooky looking tree. Carlos leaned against it, sleeping peacefully.

"It's almost dark, let's go." Logan said nervously. The dark was starting to creep him out a little. Kendall and James nodded, and James called a taxi to take them home. The three high-fived each other as they rode the taxi home.

"This is perfect!" Kendall declared, sensing victory. "Victory!" He shouted rather loudly. The driver turned around and shushed him, looking annoyed. Kendall just smirked and started chuckling.

James and Logan looked at each other and started laughing, too. This was going to be the best revenge they'd gotten in years on Carlos. They didn't want to hurt Carlos, or make him cry, or injure him, or get him in trouble… but they didn't want to deal with his pranks anymore. And this prank would be nothing. Carlos would be okay, just a little bit shaken. It was the best they could come up with. Their plan was perfect to them.

And it would seem perfect, until something happened that would change their lives forever.

**A/N- So… new story… all of ya are asking for another Carlos angst story, so HERE IT IS! GO CARLOS ANGST! You'll see most of the things in Carlos's POV next chapter! Tell me what ya think about it! Please review! I have plans for this story! **

**And now…**

**SERIOUS TIME… You guys all probably heard about this from Cheeky Brunette. **

**2 kool to spell 'kool' right committed suicide recently. Suicide. That's all I have to say, cuz it's not my business to get into… ask Cheeky Brunette if ya want…**

**I just want to say… SHE WAS A GREAT AUTHOR, and will be missed dearly.**

**This is like an AMEN from me.**

**Peace, love, and giraffes, Anonymous Skrtle**

**(till next time.)**


	2. Darkness

_**Chapter 2**_

Carlos woke up and found himself in darkness. He sat up, expecting to find himself in bed. He fell asleep a lot of times, and the boys had to carry him back into his room. But this time, Carlos found that he wasn't in his room. He wasn't even in _a_ room. He was outside. He blinked a few times, trying to see something, _anything_, but he found that everything was dark. There was nothing that he could see.

Where was he? He rubbed his brown eyes and tried to make out something in the darkness. Was he dreaming? He pinched himself, and winced with pain. Not a dream. How the heck had he gotten here? He didn't even know where he was. There was nothing around him, and it seemed like he was trapped in a box or something. A dark, dark box. But he could breathe perfectly fine.

"Hello? Anybody? Kendall? James? Logan?" Carlos shouted into the darkness, feeling as though the black were swallowing him up. Was there no one here to help him? Where were his friends? He was seriously in some big trouble. Carlos suddenly felt his hands shaking vigorously. He was such a wimp. A wimp who was scared of the dark.

"Guys! I'm serious! Please!" He begged. But no one answered him. Carlos felt more and more terrified by the minute. He had been scared of the dark ever since he was 4, and he always slept with a night light. There wasn't a light in sight. No light in a building, or any street lamps. It was just his luck. No light, no person, no anything except for the dark.

Carlos whimpered and curled into a ball. He wrapped his hands around his legs, shivering and blinking back the tears in his eyes. He was so scared. What if something or someone came and took him away? What if they murdered him… or strangled him… or made him die in pain?

Carlos suddenly remembered that he had a phone in his pocket. He whipped it out and dialed Kendall's number. For some reason, Carlos always went to Kendall for help when he was in trouble. But this time, Kendall didn't answer. Carlos dialed James's and Logan's number, but got the same results. Carlos was too scared and dizzy, so he didn't bother to leave a message.

The chirping of the crickets and all the other noises were starting to seriously freak Carlos out. He hadn't been this scared ever before in his life. His body was trembling, and he leaned against a brick wall, tears falling down his face. How had he gotten here? Why weren't his friends answering their phones? Were they in trouble? Was this all his fault?

Carlos shook the questions out of his mind, and decided to stand up. Walking might help him get his mind off of the dark and the silence. He started whistling to break the eerie silence. He tried to think about kittens and rainbows, but even his own advice wasn't working at a time like this. He took a shaky breath and kept on walking. Each step was a huge challenge, because Carlos didn't know when he'd bump into a kidnapper or a bear or a tree or…

Suddenly, Carlos heard something. It was like someone whistling. He felt air on his neck. Someone was breathing on him. Carlos froze. Then, suddenly, he was running for his life, crying and sobbing and just running as fast as he could. He felt something touch him, and he kept on running and running, never crashing into anything. Something was coming after him. He was going to die for sure.

It was then that it started raining. Pouring. Carlos's tears mixed in with the rain, and soon, his face was soaking wet. When he was sure that there was no one in back of him, he slowed down and took more shaky breaths, wondering how he would survive the night. He'd probably die from murder or fear. Carlos was scared. So scared. He was stuck in this strange empty place, with no one to comfort him. And worst of all, everything was a dark black. So black.

Carlos's breathing became fast, and soon, he was panting. But the thing was, he wasn't even moving. His mind froze, and he found himself thinking of monsters, aliens, murderers, blood…

Suddenly, Carlos saw huge brown arms waving at him, trying to grab him and choke him. He saw huge yellow lights blinding him, and people's screams echoing around him. Water poured on to him, and he felt so terrified.

The screams got louder and louder, until they hurt Carlos's ears. He could hear cries for help, curses, and so many other noises. All calling for him. All calling for the same thing. The huge arms grabbed onto him, and Carlos struggled out of their grasps. Arms were all around him, wanting to strangle him and kill him. Wanting to choke him to death. Carlos ran and tried to escape the voices, the arms, the water…

Then, Carlos saw the brightest light of all. It was a blinding white. It was so bright he was blinded for a second. But before his eyes could become clear again, all Carlos Garcia saw was even more darkness.

_Line line line line _

Kendall, James, and Logan sat comfy and warm in their living room at the Palm Woods.

"Dude," James said, looking at Kendall. "That was, like, your best prank ever! I can't wait to see Carlos's face when he finds out this is a prank." He said, grinning like an idiot.

Logan looked hesitant. "Guys, I don't think this was a good idea. I mean, I agreed and everything, but I think we should just call it off." He said, worried for Carlos. What if something happened to him? Now that Logan thought about it, it _was_ kind of cruel. Carlos was seriously terrified of the dark. No one knew why, but he just was.

Kendall looked thoughtful for a minute. "I guess I gotta agree with Logan on this one." He admitted, earning surprised looks from James and Logan.

James shook his head. "I can't believe you guys… can't even pull a prank without calling it off in 20 minutes." He rolled his eyes. "But, fine, if you guys really want to, we'll go get Carlos right now." Kendall and Logan nodded, smirking when they saw James pout and walk out the door. Kendall sighed and followed the pretty boy out of Apartment 2J. Logan hesitated. He was sure this wouldn't turn out fine. But Logan shook the thoughts away, and followed his two taller friends out of the apartment, in search of Carlos.

I was pouring rain outside, and Logan was now completely worried that Carlos had caught a cold or something worse. "Hurry, man!" He cried to James, who was driving carefully on the slippery road.

"We're gonna die if we go any faster, Logan! I thought you knew this stuff!" James retorted, keeping his eyes on the road. Kendall turned to Logan and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You gotta relax, buddy. Carlos will be fine. Maybe a bit scared, but he'll just laugh it off once he finds out it's a prank." Kendall reassured Logan. Logan was still scared, though.

"Yeah, Logie. And even if Carlos is mad at us, he'll forgive us by tomorrow. He sucks at holding grudges." James added. Logan finally relaxed a little bit, the huge feeling of worry decreasing. He was starting to think that everything would be fine. Until he arrived at the road where they'd dropped Carlos off. Until his life was ruined.

The three arrived, and got out of the car, yelling Carlos's name. Carlos didn't answer. The boys were getting really worried now. Where could Carlos have wandered off to?

Suddenly, the boys heard a noise coming from someone. Carlos. It had to be Carlos.

And it was. But the three boys almost fainted when they saw what had happened to their best friend.

**A/N- Uh oh… Whaddya think happened to poor Carlitos? I'm leaving you hanging! **** That's what I do, peeps!**

**And 2 KOOL 2 SPELL 'KOOL' RIGHT isn't actually dead! Someone spread that rumor around… idiot… but you've probably all heard about that! Yay! Me so happy! **

**Big Time Rocker… LOVED IT SO MUCH! **** I seriously loved the song, "Paralyzed" and how Katie totally came up with the name! And how it used to be called "Pair of Eyes!" LOL!**

**And that Lucy Stone girl is just… unusually funny! **** I loved her surprised look when the news woman was all like "… and apparently there is a band rocking out on a truck and blocking L.A. traffic." That made me laugh so hard!**** I loved the episode (as you can tell)!**

**Please review this chapter? Or Carlos could die… well, that could happen even if you DO review the chapter! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle! **

"


	3. What Happened?

_**Chapter 3**_

"No… this can't be right." James whispered to himself. Kendall and Logan just stood there in complete shock and fear. It couldn't be right. This couldn't be happening. Not to Carlos. This couldn't be happening to _their_ Carlos. It just couldn't.

"No." Logan said, feeling panic rising into his chest. They had to call 911 now, or Carlos could die from all the blood loss he was suffering. Logan looked at Carlos, ignoring the pain it caused him to. Both of Carlos small legs were bent at a strange angle; one of his arms was, too. Logan could tell that his face was covered with bruises and scratches, and he'd probably broken something inside his body. All the blood prevented Logan from being able to depict anything else.

"Call 911." Kendall ordered, snapping out of his trance. Carlos was in trouble, and they couldn't just stand there and watch him… die. They needed to get help, and fast. Logan took out his phone shakily, and dialed the three numbers that he'd never, ever, hoped to dial.

"Hello?" Logan jumped slightly at the voice, and then relaxing when he realized it was someone speaking on the phone.

"Hey, um… my friend Carlos, he's b-bloody and bruised and broken, and w-we don't know what h-happened to him, and it's really bad. You've gotta come and h-help him!" He cried desperately, and then stating the location they were currently standing at. Whoever was talking to Logan told the scared boy that paramedics and police were on there way, and not to worry. Well, Logan didn't listen to that part. How could he _not_ worry? One of his best friends were bleeding to death… how could he be totally calm about that?

"I knew this was a bad idea." Kendall stated shakily, his hands brushing Carlos's blood soaked hair. Carlos was barely breathing, and sooner or later, he'd stop breathing. Period. He'd stop breathing, and then all of their lives would shatter.

James shook his head. "What happened to him?" He asked quietly, not wanting to know the answer but wanting to hear it first from his friends instead of police or doctors. Kendall shrugged, and Logan just stared off into space.

"No, no, no, no, n-" Logan's chant was interrupted when James shook his shoulders. Logan snapped out of his scared daze

"I don't know what happened, James." He stated. James and Kendall nodded in disappointment. They didn't expect Logan to know about something like this. The three were getting so dizzy from all the blood on Carlos and their recent shock, they didn't even notice when the paramedics came and pulled the three away from Carlos. One paramedic lifted Carlos onto a stretcher, and then some other paramedics lifted him away. Kendall, James, and Logan just stared after the leaving ambulance, nodding at the police's orders to say calm. The police officers studied the road, the grass, anything within a 10 foot radius of where Carlos had just laid on.

One of the officers whispered something to another, and both of their eyes lit up in understanding and sympathy.

The taller of the police walked towards the three boys. "Well?" James demanded. He wasn't one to snap, but he was really scared and worried that he didn't even care that he was being rude to police officers. "What happened?

The officer sighed. "Your friend… "

"Carlos." Kendall told him. The officer nodded and continued.

"Your friend Carlos was hit by a car. We are fairly sure about it." He told them sadly, shaking his head in disbelief. What kind of driver would just drive away after they hit a totally innocent boy? A horrible one who didn't want to be caught, that's who.

"We're sorry, boys, but we'll track down this person. We'll try as hard as we can." He assured him. Kendall nodded, and James and Logan quickly followed his action.

"Get on the car, boys. Follow the ambulance to the hospital." The officer ordered. He walked back to the shorter officer, and the two got onto their police car and drove away.

Kendall looked at James and Logan, thinking about what had just happened so quickly. They had just left Carlos there by himself for 20 minutes, and now he was on his way to the hospital. How had this happened? Kendall couldn't help think that only Carlos was capable of getting himself hit by a car in 20 minutes. How had this happened?

James kept on shaking his head, not believing what had just happened. Carlos, and all the blood, and the two policemen telling them about how Carlos was hit… hit by a car. And that stupid driver had just driven away, leaving Carlos there to die. How was he going to tolerate that? He was going to find the driver and strangle him if need be. He'd kill him and hurt him, just as he'd done to poor Carlos. He would _kill_ him.

Logan's fists clenched together in anger and fear and… regret. They shouldn't have done this… it was a harmless prank, but anything that seemed harmless to someone may not be so harmless to someone else. Logan was the one who kept them safe, kept them away from danger's harm. So why had he agreed to this? Maybe it was because he wanted revenge, or maybe it was because he wanted to see Carlos's reaction. He was cruel. A cruel boy.

The three boys stood in the middle of lonely road, rain streaming down their faces, and their hair soaking wet. The boys didn't even know if the liquid dripping down their faces were tears or raindrops. They didn't know, and they didn't care.

James sighed and told his feet to move. He got into the car, and started the engine. For some reason, he knew that Kendall and Logan would follow him into the car. After all, who in their right mind would want to stay on the road where their best friend almost got killed? They all tried to tell themselves that Carlos wasn't dead, he wasn't dead. He was just beaten up badly. He was okay. But that was what they tried to tell themselves; they had no proof that it was true.

Without hesitation, James started driving, knowing the hospital route by heart. He'd been there so many times. When Kendall had fallen off a swing in kindergarten and broke his arm, when Logan broke his foot in hockey, when James's mom was having a baby, and when Carlos got hurt from his many stunts. He didn't get lost on the way there, even in all the rain and all the pain he was in. The three got there safely, and got out of their cars. They stood there in the rain, not saying anything, not doing anything.

Finally Kendall turned to face James and Logan once again. "What just happened?" He whispered, his voice almost drowned out by the rain and the rumbling of the thunder.

"Carlos got hit by a car." Logan stated obviously. It hurt him to say those words. Those words should _never_ have to come out of his mouth. Never.

"I know, but… why the heck did we do this?" Kendall continued, not even explaining what "this" was. Everyone there knew already. Logan stared at the ground, and James glared up at the sky. Kendall couldn't catch any of their eyes, and instead, looking straight ahead at dark nothing.

"Let's go." James suddenly said, snapping out of his daze and walking quickly towards the entrance. "Come on."

The three walked in silence until they reached the waiting room. They went up to the nurse and said, "Carlos Garcia." They smiled at each other when they noticed they had talked at the same time, much to the nurse's amusement. But that smile quickly disappeared when they realized that they shouldn't be smiling while Carlos was hurt because of_ them._

"Born October 20th, 1994." James informed her.

"Brown eyes, black hair, he-" Kendall was cut off when the nurse started speaking firmly.

"Sorry, guys, but you can't see Carlos right now, he's in unstable condition and currently having severe surgery." The nurse said calmly, looking at them sadly.

"But… but, can we at least hear what happened to him?" Logan stuttered out, not being able to leave without knowing what they had done to Carlos Garcia. The nurse looked hesitant, but then seemed to see the three's grief stricken faces, and smiled gently.

"Of course." She flipped through some papers until she finally pulled on out. A brand new, white piece of paper. Just put in the folders.

"Carlos Garcia has two broken legs, a broken right arm, three broken ribs, a major concussion, and he already lost 20 percent of his blood. The doctors are currently doing surgery on him and making sure he had no brain damage done to him. His skull was cracked slightly, and they're afraid that may have done some damage to his brain. Their putting Carlos in leg casts, but first they have to fix his broken bones. All this may take up to 10 hours or more, so I think you guys should come back tomorrow morning at the earliest." The nurse looked up and stared at them sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, boys. You don't deserve this."

Logan stood agape. That was a lot of injuries to have from a mere car crash. It was unlikely, but sometimes very likely, too. Carlos had so many broken bones that Logan didn't even know it… He shook his head and decided not to think about that just yet.

Kendall quickly nodded to the nurse and led his two uninjured friends away. Kendall never thought he'd be listening to the nurse when she told him to come back until tomorrow to see his currently seriously injured best friend. Away from this horrible place called a hospital. Away from where Carlos was currently dying or healing. They wouldn't know until tomorrow. Kendall prayed that tomorrow would come quickly.

James clenched his fists together and felt like punching someone. This couldn't be happening to Carlos. He was too innocent. He was too innocent. They shouldn't have done this to Carlos. How stupid were they? And James wanted to punch himself when he thought of the fact that he'd been a strong supporter of the horrible idea. This was their fault. All of their faults. James turned towards Kendall and Logan.

"The nurse was wrong. We _do_ deserve this."

**A/N- Wow… this was just sad, right? I mean, heart-breaking sad, right? Sigh. I hope I'll never have to deal with something like this… It totally sucks. It totally fails. I can't even explain what it feels like, cuz I've never been through something like this.**

**So… PLEASE REVIEW? They seriously make my day, and I love them so much! Every single unique one of them. I seriously appreciate all the review, guys… You don't even know how much! **


	4. Memories

_**Chapter 4**_

__That night, none of the boys could sleep. They kept on thinking about the horrible thing they'd done to Carlos. Something so horrible, it could lead to an innocent boy's death. This was their fault. Nothing they could do could fix the horrible mess they'd already caused.

The three went to bed thinking about the last conversation they'd had with Carlos.

Kendall stared up the dull ceiling. He felt like sobbing into his pillow, but Logan was right there next to him. He had to keep strong for him and James. And… Carlos. Kendall swallowed a sob, and tried to compose himself. He had to keep strong for Carlos. This was his fault, and he wasn't gonna cry about it. He was the one who came up with this destructive prank. What a sick, disgusting person he was. He had to be brave; he had to keep on going. Because if he collapsed, so would his friends and family. The last time he'd spoken to Carlos was two days ago, in the apartment. It was a sunny day.

"_Kendall! Can you come to the park with me to feed the ducks?" Carlos asked, plopping himself right next to Kendall, who was hurriedly texting Jo on his cell phone. Kendall didn't even look up, and completely ignored Carlos._

_ "Kendall!" Carlos yelled loudly, causing Kendall to jump, dropping his phone and sending his unfinished message. _Hey, Jo what's-

_"Dude! What was that?" Kendall said, annoyed at his friend. Carlos shrugged and smirked when Kendall groaned._

_ "Can ya come to the park with me?" He repeated. Kendall sighed._

_ "Dude, aren't you like, way too old for the park?" He asked, trying to get Carlos to leave him. Carlos shook his head eagerly._

_ "No! Parks are fun!" He argued. Kendall rolled his eyes._

_ "Sorry, buddy, but I've got a date with Jo." He smiled when he saw the Jo had texted him back, stating that she wanted to meet him at the pool. And no way was Carlos coming with him. He'd completely ruin it like he always did. Kendall loved Carlos, but at this moment, he really just didn't want Carlos to be right in front of him._

_ Carlos frowned, pouting and crossing his arms. "Meanie!' He left the room, humming some silly tune to himself._

Kendall sighed softly. If he could relive that moment, he'd break up with Jo to go to the park with Carlos. He'd do anything to take back his actions that day. But he knew he was too late. He'd underestimated what could happen in just two days.

Across from the blonde, Logan lay underneath his large blanket. It had always brought him warmth, but not today. Today, he felt cold and lonely, like he was the only one left in the world. This was completely unpredicted. Logan was a logical person; and the chances of their whole world turning in only one day was very low. So low, Logan would've never even considered it. But it was happening at that moment, so he'd better believe it.

_ "Logie! Smile!" Carlos grinned at his smart friend. He'd recently bought a camera from the money he earned dog walking and from bets. And now, he was taking pictures of everything. Literally everything. Logan couldn't even count how many pictures he'd taken already._

_ "Oh. My. Gosh, Carlos! Promise me this is gonna be your last picture!" Logan groaned, annoyed and tired of hearing the 'click click' noises all day long. Carlos grinned._

_ "Anything for you, Logan!" He said, smirking when Logan reached over and punched him in the shoulder._

_ "Fine. Last one, promise?" Logan asked. Carlos nodded firmly._

_ "Promise." Logan put on his best smile and Carlos snapped a picture of him. _

_ "Perfect! Now, I'm going to see all of the awesome pictures I took today! Logan, wanna look with me?" Carlos asked eagerly. Logan sighed and nodded, admitting to himself that he was curious about it, too._

_ But when Carlos opened up the picture album on the camera, all of the pictures were black. "Hey, why are they all black, Logie?" Carlos questioned, his eyes furrowing together. Logan shrugged, and thought about it. Until he thought of the answer._

_ "Dude, you didn't take of the lenses!" He cried, throwing his arms in the air Carlos stared at him with a confused look._

_ "What are lenses?"_

_ Logan sighed and showed Carlos what lenses were. _

_ "Oh…" Carlos trailed off, a sheepish look on his face. "Oops."_

_ Logan turned back to math homework. "You're so stupid." He mumbled as Carlos happily too off the lenses and skipped out of the room, not even remembering the promise that he'd just promised Logan._

Logan couldn't help thinking that there was a large possibility that Carlos may _never_ remember that promise again. He'd either lose all his memory, or he'd die. Logan tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. That wouldn't happen, or he'd blame himself forever. He could've told Kendall and James to not go through with the prank, they would've listened. Kendall and James would've listened to anything Logan said if he started begging. Maybe he should've tried harder, then maybe, just maybe, Carlos would be alright.

Logan would've invented a time machine right then and there, but he couldn't. He couldn't go back in time and save Carlos, or prevent the prank from happening. That was one of the things Logan couldn't achieve, no matter what he did.

In the room next to Kendall and Logan's, James was in bed, staring at black nothing, thinking about how lonely the room was without Carlos begging him to read or tell him a story, Carlos jabbering on and on about nothing, and Carlos's snores. Those things had annoyed James before, but now he would've broken his lucky comb for it.

_"Carlos! Get off my bed!" James cried, pushing Carlos off his body. Carlos shrieked as he hit the floor, but then started laughing. _

_ "What are you laughing at?" James asked, completely confused. Carlos just pointed to James's hair. James shrieked even louder than Carlos did, and ran into the bathroom He saw that his hair was just fine. Carlos had tricked him._

_ "Oh, I'm SO getting you back for that!" James shouted, running away to get his needed material. He came back holding clumps of black plastic. _

_ "No way! You broke my Helmet!" Carlos cried, running into his messy closet to check. When he saw that his Helmet was still there in one piece, Carlos knew he'd been tricked, too._

_ Then, James started laughing about the irony of it all. Carlos started laughing because this kind of behavior was so normal when it came to James and Carlos. The two boys laughed and laughed, and it was 12 and midnight._

_ "Shut up!" Kendall and Logan yelled through the other room. Their voices were muffled from the wall separating them, but they were heard. James and Carlos just laughed harder, because they just loved that feeling of happiness,_

James sighed. If Carlos didn't get better, he'd never have that feeling of bliss ever again. He couldn't help wondering if Carlos would get back at him. He almost killed Carlos, so would Carlos try to kill him out of revenge? James knew it was silly. Carlos couldn't punch someone even if his life depended on it. He was too kind, too innocent, to ever hurt somebody. But James wasn't. He took advantage of Carlos's innocence, and made it into a game. A sick game.

The three boys stayed up all night, until finally, _finally_, morning came.

_Line line line line _

"Carlos Garcia?" The boys jumped when they heard the nurse call Carlos's name. Kendall nodded, and James and Logan followed Kendall and the nurse until they got to Carlos's room. Not even caring about the number, the three boys piled in, not being able to live with the guilt any long if they couldn't see Carlos.

The three froze in their tracks when they saw the best friend. Carlos wasn't even _Carlos _anymore. His face was littered with red and black scratches. Both his legs were in a cast, and his arm was, too. He had a machine attached to him, pumping some sort of medicine into his body.

But the worst part was that Carlos didn't even move. His body stayed still, and his brown eyes were closed shut.

When the nurse left, the boys looked at each other.

Then, Logan put his hand on Carlos's injured head. "I'm sorry, buddy." He started, not being able to say anymore. Tears choked his voice, and he stepped back, sitting onto a chair, burying his face into his hands.

James went up next. "Forgive us, Carlos. Or we'll never forgive ourselves. Please." He said, his voice surprisingly firm. He sighed and sat down next to Logan.

Kendall looked down at Carlos's legs and said, "You're what keeps us alive, Carlos. If you die, we die too." He stated quietly.

Such a simple statement. But so, so true.

**A/N- So… unconscious Carlos, that's good angst but never a good thing in real life… how'd ya like the chapter? Please review and tell me? ;)**

**I love all this popularity of this story, and ALL THE AWESOME REVIEWS! **** Thank you SO much! Keep it going! **


	5. Stick Together

_**Chapter 5**_

"I can't believe we did this." James whispered, his voice cracking. Carlos was practically in a coma because of them. No, scratch that, he _was_ in a coma because of them. Carlos could never wake up, and it would all be because of them. James couldn't help but think that he was the leader in the horrible prank they played. He encouraged it, and he was the one who wanted revenge on someone as innocent as Carlos was.

"Yeah." Logan agreed.

Kendall suddenly cleared his throat. "He's gonna get better, you know? He's gonna be fine at the end." He said, trying to convince himself. None of them wanted to admit to anyone or themselves that this wasn't Carlos doing a stunt, and just merely breaking an arm. This was way more serious; Carlos had broken ribs and legs and had brain damage. Nothing could be worse than that. Except death, of course.

And that was the one piece of hope James, Kendall, and Logan held on to. At least Carlos was alive, at least he was still breathing. At least he wasn't dead.

"That's what everyone hopes when someone they love is attached in wires." Logan stated, his voice surprisingly firm and clear. Logan was never one to sound so sure of himself, but this time, he was sure of what he said. So sure, in fact, that he was already expecting Carlos to die. Logan tried to clear the thought out of his head, but it just came back in and back out over and over again. Logan didn't know what to do anymore.

"This can't be happening." James whispered, shaking his head back and forth. He wanted this to be a joke, a sick, sick joke, like the one they'd played on Carlos. But Carlos wasn't like that; he wasn't cruel and vengeful like they all were. He was nice and caring, and would never hut any of them, no matter what they did to him. And James wished he could imitate that, but obviously, he never would be able to. He wished this were a nightmare, a horrible, horrible nightmare.

"Carlos, wake up!" Logan suddenly shouted desperately, running over and throwing himself over Carlos, perhaps causing even more damage to Carlos's already broken body. Kendall and James started snapping out of their trances and trying to get Logan off of Carlos.

"Logan! What are you doing?" Kendall shouted, trying to pull Logan off. Logan's breathing became faster and quicker. He was having a panic attack.

"Carlos has t-to w-wake up, Kendall. H-he _has_ to!" He shouted, his voicing cracking and sounding like it was about to break in half. Logan knew it was no use, but he just wanted to do something to help Carlos. He was going to be a doctor, so why couldn't he do anything? Why?

"I have t-to do something, guys! He's g-gonna d-d-die!" Logan cried, not be able to be in the hospital anymore. He couldn't keep on seeing Carlos so helpless and broken, with no hope of getting help from Logan. Logan had to help his best friend. Kendall and James protected him, and he had to protect Carlos. It was his job as _Logan_ and as a future doctor. He just wanted to save Carlos. He wanted to do something, not just stand there and watch Carlos break. He just couldn't do it anymore.

"Logie! Please! Calm down, buddy!" James said calmly. Logan's eyes cleared from the tears he was currently shedding. His breathing slowed when he realized that Carlos could be okay. He still had a pulse, and there were plenty of other professional doctors there to help and save Carlos. He realized he was being stupid and sensitive about the whole thing.

Logan took a deep, shaky breath. "Sorry." He whispered, his voice sounding so vulnerable and so disappointed at the same time.

"No prob, bud. Maybe we should go home now, huh?" Kendall suggested. Logan nodded, and James grinned at both of them. Maybe when they came back, Carlos would wake up. Just maybe. Just maybe.

"Yeah." Logan nodded, and the three set off, all looking back at Carlos's broken, battered body. Knowing that they had caused all of it.

_Line line line line_

That night, the boys were becoming insomniacs for the second time in a row.

Kendall tried to sleep, but how was he able to sleep knowing that his best friend was in the hospital, sleeping in the dark _and_ with strangers? Carlos didn't like the dark at all… and Kendall had probably pushed his fear a bit too far. But Carlos loved meeting new people. He loved talking to adults, children, new born infants who couldn't even talk yet, the elderly, and even animals. Kendall was comforted knowing that Carlos, if he ever woke, would be surrounded by people. He'd have a happy time at the hospital, and he'd make so many new friends. Everyone ended up loving Carlos no matter what, and Kendall hoped that this was no exception.

Whenever James closed his eyes, he'd have horrible images of Carlos, blood forming like a jacket on his body. All the blood on Carlos. All the blood. Carlos was going to die right then and there if they were a second late. If they'd been a tiny bit late, then… James shook his head. He couldn't think about that. Carlos was okay for now, and that's all that really mattered for now. For now. For now. James wondered if Kendall and Logan didn't persuade him to pick Carlos up 20 minutes early, then what? Would Carlos stop breathing? Would he be dead by now? Would they be getting ready for his funeral right at this moment?

Logan slept, but nightmares stopped him from having a good rest. He had nightmares about him becoming a monster. He'd look down and his feet would start turning into furry and spiky paws. His hands became white wings, and horns grew out of his head. Logan couldn't shake the fact off that they'd all been cruel. Logan could've stopped this prank from happening, or at least warned Carlos of it. But he didn't. He left him there and just sat at home, waiting and watching. Waiting and watching to see what would happen next. He was cruel. He had become a monster in his dream and in reality.

When dawn finally came, three boys stared outside their window, watching the sun rise up. Kendall got up early because his mom had told him to cook breakfast early because she and Katie were visiting Carlos in the hospital. James woke up because he'd never even fallen asleep in the first place. Logan woke up because he couldn't take the nightmares anymore.

"Get any sleep?" Kendall asked quietly, knowing the answer from Logan's red eyes and James's messy hair. James shook his head, and Logan just looked at the ground.

"We're all so different without Carlos." Logan pointed out, his voice hoarse. Kendall sighed.

"Yeah. But we have to remember that no matter what, we have to stick together." James added, his voice completely cleared from any joy or pride. But he sounded confident, and Kendall and Logan sought comfort from that confidence

"The only way Carlos can make it is it we're all there for him." Kendall finished, staring his friends in the eyes.

"Yeah." Logan put his had in the middle of the kitchen table. Kendall did too. And with no hesitation, James added his had into the pile too.

Everything was going out okay so far. They were sticking together, and Carlos was showing no signs of getting worse.

But he wasn't showing signs of getting better yet, either.

The three Minnesota boys couldn't help but notice that the sun didn't seem as bright when Carlos wasn't there to light it up.

**A/N- So really… no Carlos angst here, but I promise there will be soon! ;) Depends on the reviews and how much ya guys love this story!**

**I seriously LOVE all the reviews! I love all of ya SO MUCH! **

**And there'll be a big shocker later on in the story… Be prepared, young ones… ;)**

**Peace, love, and Giraffes! **

**Anonymous Skrtle! **


	6. Wake

_**Chapter 6**_

"James! Get the phone!" Kendall shouted. The three were currently watching the Minnesota Wilds play their greatest rival yet, the Pittsburgh Pirates. They had tried to take their mind off of poor Carlos, and tried to make everything normal again. But that was probably the worst mistake they'd ever made. It made them notice Carlos's absence even more.

Carlos would always stand up and jump up and down whenever the Wilds scored on simple hockey goal. Kendall, James, and Logan had tried to tell Carlos that he was annoying them, but he never listened. He kept on screaming and laughing and making so much noise that the boys had to turn off the TV at halftime.

The silence was so lonely and depressing now. The three had tried to get Carlos to go to sleep when a hockey game was on. But now, Kendall wanted that noise from Carlos more than ever. He didn't care if he missed the game or not. He knew that he, and the other two, was missing Carlos more than ever, but not wanting to admit it.

"No! I _have_ to watch this!" The pretty boy shouted back. The boys had the volume on the highest it could be. None of them were used to watching TV without Carlos's loud noise. The silence before was agonizingly horrible.

"Fine… I'll get it." Kendall grumbled, silently happy to leave the TV. It was probably just him, but the hockey game wasn't near as exciting when Carlos wasn't there to cheer the Wilds on.

"Hello?" A woman answered on the other side.

"Is this the current parent or guardian of Carlos Garcia?" Kendall's heart started beating harder and faster. Could this be it? Could Carlos be awake? Or could Carlos be dead?

"Yes." Kendall lied quickly. The nurse believed him completely, and continued.

"We have good news and bad news. The good news is that Carlos Garcia has woken up from his life-threatening coma. The bad news is that he won't talk to anyone. We think he'll respond to his family and friends. Is it possible for you to come now?" Kendall didn't even need to answer that one. Of course he could, and of course they all wanted to.

"Yeah, we'll be there soon." Kendall hung up quickly, feeling worried and so happy.

"What is it?" James asked, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Carlos." Logan and James whipped their heads up when they heard their best friend's name.

"What's wrong with him?" Logan asked cautiously, not wanting to know if Carlos had died.

Kendall grinned. "He woke up. But," Kendall continued, smirking as he saw his friends' happy faces drop "he won't talk to anyone. The nurses are hoping his friends and family can get him to talk. His family's almost halfway across the world, so what are we waiting for?"

James jumped up, quickly followed by Logan. "Let's go!" The three boys ran outside, followed by Katie and Mrs. Knight, who had somehow heard either the conversation between Kendall and the nurse, or the conversation Kendall and James and Logan had.

James drove the fastest he could without breaking the speed limit, Logan urging him on. Logan wasn't one to break the rules, but he wanted James to break the speed limit at that moment. They had to see Carlos. They had to be sure that he was alive.

The three and Mrs. Knight and Katie rushed into the hospital. The nurse, knowing them a bit too well already, led them to Carlos's room. She quickly left them alone, telling him to try and get Carlos to talk.

Carlos was sitting up and still looking bruised and broken, but everyone thought he looked like a shining angel at that moment.

"Hey, buddy… I can't believe you're awake!" Kendall grinned at his friend, but he got no reaction, other than a twitch from Carlos's eye.

"Dude… how are you?" James asked cautiously. Carlos looked down and started playing with his fingers.

"Carlos, can you talk to us?" Logan asked gently, not wanting to startle the Latino.

"Come on buddy, we love you." Katie added hopefully.

"Please, Carlos? We want to hear your voice again." Mrs. Knight tried. Carlos didn't even look at them, or acknowledge that any of them had spoken.

Suddenly, Carlos whipped his head up, wincing when the bruises on his face and neck seemed to be hurting him. His eyes filled with tears, and his breathing started getting faster.

"No, no, no." Carlos whimpered in the quietest and terrified voice any of them had heard him use before.

"No what, buddy?" Kendall asked gently, placing a hand on Carlos's shoulder.

Carlos seemed to snap out of a trance he had seemed to be stuck in. He shook his head.

"We're so glad you're awake, buddy. We've missed you so much." James grinned, and Carlos just shrugged.

"What happened?" Katie asked quietly. Kendall, James, and Logan had never bothered to tell Mrs. Knight or Katie what had happened. They felt so guilty; they couldn't have their guardian and parent or their baby sister knowing how cruel they were.

Carlos took a shaky breath. "Car." His voice was quiet and didn't hold any of the cheerfulness it once had. The boys missed that cheerfulness so much, but they knew they weren't getting it back soon.

"How'd you get hit by a car?" Katie asked innocently, not knowing how much her question hurt everyone in the room.

"Dark road." Carlos replied, his voice getting softer and softer every second. The boys, Katie, and Mrs. Knight had already noticed that he was only saying two or one word at a time. That wasn't Carlos. Carlos was always screaming a million words a second every second of the day. There was something broken inside of Carlos.

"How?" Kendall, James, and Logan took a guilty breath when Carlos asked them about how it had happened. How did it happen? The boys were selfish cruel freaks who tried to play a horrible prank on their innocent best friend? Best summary any of them could think of.

Kendall silently sent Katie and Mrs. Knight eye signals to tell them to go away for the moment. This was their challenge, their fault. They had to face this obstacle on their own.

"Carlitos… we have to tell you something." James started.

"This is our fault." Logan admitted, getting right to the point. What was the point if none of them were brave enough to tell Carlos the truth? Better get it over with sooner than later, right?

Carlos's eyes widened slightly. "How?"

"Dude… we were sick of your pranking, so we decided to play a prank on you. It was supposed to be innocent fun, but I guess not…" Kendall trailed off, guilty tears in his eyes. Kendall blinked them away; Kendall Knight did not cry.

"We dropped you off in that dark road after giving you sleeping pills. We were gonna pick you up in 45 minutes or so, but we came in 20 minutes. And we saw you all bloodied and broken in the middle of the road." Logan said, his voice cracking time after time.

"We're so sorry, buddy. We'll understand if you don't ever forgive us for this, but we're so glad you're awake… you're our life, Carlos." James told the Latino. Carlos face turned so desperate and so hurt and so… forgiving, while the information sunk in.

Carlos nodded and closed his eyes. Tears started forming under his eyelids, and he couldn't keep them in anymore. Kendall sighed in shame when he saw that they had caused Carlos to cry. He was their leader, and look what he had done.

"Scared me." He stared at them with fear and confusion in his face.

"We're sorry, Carlos. So sorry." James said. Carlos nodded.

"Everything hurts." Carlos said, his voice laced with pain.

"I know, buddy, but it'll get better soon." Kendall assured Carlos.

"Sleepy." Carlos yawned, causing the boys to laugh and chuckle.

"Alright, sleepy head, good night." Logan laughed, grinning.

"Sleep tight, Carlos." James added.

"We'll visit you tomorrow. Promise." Kendall said sincerely.

"Bye." Carlos closed his eyes and his breathing started getting slower and slower.

"Bye." The three boys whispered back, knowing that Carlos was already asleep.

They left in a horrible mood, because they had just noticed that through their whole visit, Carlos didn't ever laugh or smile.

**A/N- Bet ya didn't expect that… Carlos woke up rather quickly… Sorry if that disappoints you or anything… but YAY if that makes ya happy! **

**So… next chapter will have more angst in it, so I hope you like angst! **

**Please review? Love ya all! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle! **


	7. Changed

_**Chapter 7**_

The next day, the boys went back to the hospital to see Carlos. Carlos was sitting up in bed, and seemed startled to see them there.

"Go away." He whispered in a scared voice. He sounded so desperate, so scared. James and Kendall recoiled in surprise. Logan flinched and looked worried.

"Carlos. We're you're friends. We're not gonna hurt you." Kendall said in a gentle voice. Carlos just shook his head, clenching his eyes tight.

"No, no." He whimpered, tears starting to spill from his eyes. "Please don't."

James shared a glance with Kendall and Logan. What was wrong with Carlos? They had done this to him, and James was determined to fix it.

"Dude, it's me, James. Carlos, please." James begged, trying to get Carlos to stop crying and sobbing. Carlos seemed like he didn't even know who his three best friends were anymore. But they weren't really good friends anymore, after all… they had trapped Carlos in his biggest nightmare, and there was no way to take back that mistake. It was like paper. Once you make a tear of a wrinkle, it says there forever. You can always tape it back on, but it would always be there forever, a painful reminder.

"No, no!" Carlos cried, his breaths getting heavier and more scared. Kendall quickly called a nurse. Right when the woman came in, Carlos stopped whimpering, and his crying ceased. James, Kendall, and Logan stared in shock. What had just happened?

"What…?" Logan trailed off, for once not knowing the answer to something. The nurse stared at them sympathetically.

"It's not you, boys. We've done some experiments with Carlos, and we've found that he reacts like… this when he sees a male. No matter how old. But when he sees a female, he'll go back to normal." She explained, looking confused herself.

"But… why?" Kendall asked, feeling hurt. Was it because of them? Was it because the last people Carlos had seen were them? And now he thought every man and boy out there was going to murder him or something?

"We're not sure yet, boys. We're doing some tests on his blood, but so far we haven't found any signs of a disease." The nurse explained, rubbing Carlos's back comfortingly.

"Calm down, boy. Deep breaths," she instructed gently. Carlos sniffled twice, and then he seemed to calm down for real. Kendall, James, and Logan stepped out of Carlos's sight, not wanting the event to repeat itself.

"Thanks." Carlos looked up at the nurse. The nurse smiled back, and asked Carlos how he was feeling.

"Bad." Carlos replied. He didn't say anymore, no matter how much the nurse stared at him and nodded him on. The boys could tell that Carlos wouldn't be the same after this.

The nurse smiled and told him to wait there. She left the room. Carlos seemed to sink back onto his stretcher in relief. He didn't know that his three best friends were still standing behind him. Kendall hesitantly stepped in front of Carlos.

Carlos froze and bit his lip. "Please don't." He whimpered, starting to panic again.

Kendall knew what to do this time. "It's okay, we won't. We won't do it." He repeated, hoping that Carlos would get his point and not be scared of him. Carlos seemed a little comforted, and he relaxed his stiffened muscles in a few moments.

Before he could say anything, the nurse came back in, and gave Carlos some pain medicine. "I'm sorry, boys, but I think you should be heading home for now. Carlos is in critical condition and visitors will not be allowed until tomorrow morning at 9." The nurse seemed to know something the boys didn't, but none of them pushed it. They were disappointed, sure, but they knew that Carlos couldn't handle seeing them just yet. They were suffering for their horrible mistake, and they boys were willing to feel the emotional and mental pain that came along with their sin. They deserved it.

"Sure." James said, Kendall and Logan nodding in confirmation. The nurse smiled at them sympathetically, and then the three teenagers walked out of the room. Carlos was fast asleep from the pain medicine already.

"That was… odd." James stated.

Kendall nodded. "Was it just me, or was that nurse not telling us something?" He wondered out loud.

"Yeah… she seemed like she was lying…" Logan added, trailing off. He looked shaken up by the events that had just occurred. James put his hand on Logan's shoulder reassuringly.

"It'll be alright… it always is." He assured Logan. But Logan pulled away.

"No it's not! How can you say that? Carlos doesn't even know who we are anymore!" Logan shouted, causing attention from the people in the hallways. The three hurried outside and into the car, embarrassed.

"That's just because something happened." James retorted bluntly.

Logan sighed. "Why can't you understand that this is all because of us? We may never see the old Carlos ever again." He said, sincerely believing his words.

"I _do!_ It's just that I also know that Carlos will get better." James replied, wanting the argument to end. It wasn't like Logan to start arguing with them.

Kendall suddenly honked on the horn loudly. He was driving, and the horn echoed around the parking lot, a seemingly never ending noise. "Guys! We can't argue like this! Carlos needs us to be there for him now, and nothing's going to get in between that, alright?" He demanded. James sighed and nodded. Logan, still looking frustrated, nodded, too.

"Sorry." The smart boy muttered. He was sorry that he was behaving like this when Carlos was suffering in silence in the hospital. He was sorry he made Kendall feel like they were breaking apart. He was sorry that James couldn't understand that there was a huge possibility that Carlos would never get better. He could be sent to a mental institution, and he could live there for the rest of his long life. But Logan Mitchell _knew_ that he wasn't sorry he yelled at James.

_Line line line _

Carlos's nurse, Julia, entered the room. She closed the door gently, not wanting to wake the 16 year old boy in front of her. But Carlos was already wide awake, staring at the ceiling.

"Carlos, honey, I'm afraid that there's some bad news." She said, gripping on tightly to her papers and folders. Carlos just stared back with a scared and vulnerable expression.

"What?" He said, his voice hardly audible.

"Do you remember what happened that day, honey?" Julia asked. Carlos nodded after a few minutes of thought.

"Then you know that-" She was cut off when Carlos interrupted her.

"Yeah." He said, his voice hoarse and unwanted memories entering his mind. Julia just nodded, understanding that Carlos wanted to be alone. She hurried out, wishing Carlos a good night, even though she knew that it wouldn't.

Carlos looked out the window. He remembered that night. He didn't want to remember, but he did. And it seemed that the doctors had just found out, too. He didn't even know what had happened exactly. He knew it wasn't supposed to happen; it hurt, and it hurt so much.

Carlos didn't want to tell anyone else. Whenever he saw _him_… it seemed like the world was starting to crumble around him. He was scared. What if it happened again?

Carlos felt alone. There seemed to be a part missing of him. But he didn't know what it was just yet.

**A/N- I kinda thought this was a crappy chapter… Sorry… I'm so busy lately with school and stuff, and when I do update… it's this horrible passage of sentences and phrases. I'm so sorry… **

**Well, on to another matter, what do ya think happened with Carlos there? What was Julia about to say? It might be confusing right now, but I promise everything will be revealed soon… If I decide to update…**

**So****please****review?****I****don****'****t****wanna****sound****mean****… ****but****I****really****love****your****reviews****… ****and****they****encourage****me****to****keep****going!****Love****ya****all!**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous****Skrtle**


	8. Forgetting

_**Chapter 8**_

Kendall, James, and Logan were visiting Carlos again after their long night. None of them could sleep thinking about what could have happened to their best friend.

What was wrong with Carlos? He was such an innocent boy, and the guys had never seen him as scared and terrified as he was the day before. What had happened to cause Carlos to behave the way he did? They knew it must have been something horrible. Carlos hardly ever got so upset over things. This wasn't just a lost helmet or a dropped corndog; the guys knew it was something way more.

"Carlos Garcia." Kendall told the nurse. The nurse just smiled gently and led them to Carlos's room. To Kendall, saying Carlos's name was like some huge mistake. He didn't deserve to say Carlos's 5-syllable name out loud anymore. He had harmed Carlos, and now it seemed as though Carlos wouldn't come back again.

The three boys quietly walked into Carlos's room. Come to think of it, they didn't even know his room number. None of them had bothered to glance at the number on the door. They were all too worried about their best friend. They didn't care about some stupid room number.

Carlos was sitting up in his bed like he had been the past few days. He looked up, and fear filled his eyes when he saw three men walk into the room.

"Go away!" He shouted loudly, trying to scoot off the hospital bed. Tears fell down his face, and nothing could stop them from flowing freely.

"Carlos. We're your friends, remember?" Kendall asked gently, cautiously placing his hand on Carlos's soft shoulder. Carlos flinched, but his eyes started to clear up, as though he recognized something important.

When Kendall's hand touched his shoulder, he felt that missing part of him heal. It was like the last piece of a puzzle, fitted right into place. Carlos couldn't help but think that this man wasn't out to harm him. Maybe. Just maybe.

"Remember us, Carlos?" Carlos looked back up to see a man with brown hair staring down at him. He knew him. He remembered this man. He was his… his… he was someone that he knew from before. But he just couldn't place his finger on who it was.

Carlos knew at that moment that what the doctors and nurses told him were true. He was having a memory loss. He had lost part of his memory; that was why he felt as though some part of him were missing.

"Who?" Carlos asked bluntly. He was afraid the three boys/men wouldn't understand, but they did. That made Carlos even more certain that they knew him. They knew him more than he probably knew himself at that moment.

"I'm James. Don't you remember, Carlos?" He asked, worry creasing his forehead. Carlos felt something inside of him burst open. The truth was that he _did_ remember this guy who called himself James. He closed his eyes, scrunching them tight, trying to remember _something,_ anything, about James. He thought and thought, and suddenly, he felt something click in his brain.

_"__We__'__re__the__Super__Hollywood__Party__Kings__of__Hollywood!__" _The words disappeared into his mind as quickly as they appeared into his mind. Super Hollywood Party Kings of Hollywood. He suddenly remembered. James Di-something. They were party kings. They were best friends. The teenager who loved his hair, and brought a comb everywhere. That was all Carlos could think of for now, but it was all he needed to be able to trust James again. Suddenly, James didn't seem like a stranger anymore.

Carlos bit his lip. "I remember." He replied confidently. James grinned.

"That's awesome, Carlitos. Then do you remember Kendall and Logan?" James asked, pointing at the blonde and then the short one.

Kendall. Kendall. Blonde haired Kendall. Carlos stared into Kendall's green eyes, his blonde hair, his face. Kendall.

_So__what__'__s__the__play?__Dump__the__puck,__or__Big__Time__Rush?_ Kendall. They're leader. Their motivator. Always there to cheer them on. Carlos's protector, hero, his everything. Kendall meant a lot to him, and Carlos suddenly remembered that. And their band… Big Time Rush. He was a singer. A dancer.

Logan. Carlos glanced at Logan, but suddenly, he remembered Logan, too. _I__'__m__not__scared!__And__I__'__m__realistic__…_ Carlos didn't remember when that was, except that there was a girl dressed as someone else who said that Logan was hot. Logan was the realistic one. He kept them out of trouble (sometimes) and kept them from doing too many crazy things.

"Yeah." Carlos whispered, tears coming down his face again. He remembered his friends, and he couldn't believe he hadn't trusted them at the beginning.

"Please don't be scared of us, Carlos." Logan pleaded quietly. Carlos nodded slowly and hesitantly; usually whatever Logan said was correct.

"We're your best friends, Carlitos." James added, a smile covering almost half his face. Carlos tried to smile back, but it came out as a wince. His everywhere still hurt, and he really craved for some pain medication right now. He knew it made him weak and helpless; but he was in so much pain.

"Nurse." Carlos croaked. Kendall nodded, and pressed a red button on Carlos's bed. A nurse came a minute later.

"Carlos? You want to take you pain medicine now?" She asked gently. Carlos glanced one more time at his friends. He didn't trust them completely yet, but he remembered enough to know that these people cared about him. They wouldn't let him get hurt on purpose. He trusted them a little for now. He trusted them more than any of the nurses and doctors.

Kendall, James, and Logan smiled weakly. "Bye, buddy. We'll see ya tomorrow, okay?" Kendall waved and grinned. Carlos just lifted his hand, attempting to wave. But his energy was fading; the medicine was taking its toll.

Just as the door closed, Carlos fell into a deep sleep, pictures of his three best friends' faces etched into his mind and in his dreams.

_Line line line _

"Did he forget us?" Logan asked, looking bewildered. Carlos seemed as though he forgot who they were and what horrible thing they'd done.

The doctor sighed. "I'm afraid the car did some damage to his brain. He'll probably remember everything soon, but you have to be prepared. Because Carlos's brain will not be completely healed; ever. So there will be times when he has memory lapses. He'll forget things easily sometimes; sometimes he'll even forget who you guys are for a few minutes. But that's just what happens when your brain gets damaged like that. I'm sorry, boys." He explained.

The three boys stood in the middle of the hallway, starting at the doctor's face. It couldn't be true. Carlos's brain had been so damaged that he may never remember who they were. It may be only for a few minutes, but that was bad enough. Carlos shouldn't have to forget at all. If it wasn't for them, this wouldn't have happened.

Kendall turned to the doctor, and stared him hard in the eyes yet again. "Don't be sorry." He said, an unreadable tone in his voice.

When the three got home, none of them wanted to do anything.

"He forgot us, he forgot us," Logan kept on chanting. He was starting to hyperventilate. Carlos forgot who they were. He completely _forgot_ who they were. Logan didn't care how long Carlos forgot; it scared him that Carlos would forget at all. But this was his fault. Carlos's brain was in critical danger, and it was all his fault.

"Kendall, James! I can't do this anymore! This is all my fault!" Logan's voice cracked, and tears started flowing freely down his face. Tears that he had been holding in for the past few days, perhaps even the past week. He just couldn't keep them in anymore. He couldn't be strong anymore; his shell had been broken. He couldn't handle the guilt and the pain anymore.

"Logan, if it's anyone's fault, it's _ours._" Kendall said firmly, putting both his hands on Logan's shoulders. "Don't beat yourself up. We need you, Logan. You mean too much to us." He continued. Logan nodded and sniffled a few times.

"We have to blame all of us, or blame none of us." James said, his eyes wide and serious.

And if the situation weren't as horrible and painful as it were, Kendall and Logan would have laughed.

**A/N- Soo… I. AM. SO. SORRY! I have some reasons, though… they're pretty much excuses, though…**

**I had a fever for, like, 5 days. **

**I had an ear infection in two spots (and still do, though it doesn't hurt).**

**I had an allergic reaction to my medicine for the ear infection, so I grew these red rashes all over my body. (just disappeared today, and may come back tomorrow)**

**I was just plain lazy.**

**I am so sorry! I reallllly hope you like this chapter, so it'll make up for the late update… but that's a fat chance… I'm really, seriously, sorry… **

**But I'll try and update Bitten or this story soon! Bear with me, all you awesomees… **

**Peace, (Procrastinating) Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle! **


	9. Returning

_**Chapter 9**_

Carlos sat in his bed, thinking. Why did his friends always seem so… guilty? It was like they were mad at themselves, or maybe they were mad at him. But why? Carlos closed his eyes and tried to remember something he'd said or done that may have gotten his friends mad at him. But he came up with none. Nothing. He chose to keep his mouth shut for about 90 percent of their conversations. When he spoke, he never said more than 2 words at a time.

Maybe that was what made his friends so mad at him. Maybe it was that he was being too quiet and blocked out everything most of the time. But he couldn't be loud again; it was one of the main reasons… the _thing_ happened to him. He had been too crazy; too loud.

When his friends walked in, Carlos felt them staring into him. He looked up.

"Carlos? We may have to tell you something." Carlos froze. What if they knew about the thing? What if they were really mad at him and decided not to be friends with him anymore.

"Okay, so your accident… really wasn't…. wasn't…" James trailed off, not being able to say anymore.

Logan pitched in. "It wasn't an a-accident." He explained bluntly.

Kendall sighed and looked into Carlos's chocolate brown eyes. "We were tired of you always playing jokes on us and stuff, so we… we knocked you out one night with pills and then dropped you off in a dark and almost empty road."

"And I guess you got scared or something, because, you know…" James trailed off once again. Everyone knew what he was talking about.

Carlos stared at each of them in shock and relief. They weren't mad at him, and they didn't know about the _thing_ yet. But _they_ were the ones who left him there, all alone in the dark? Carlos remembered that night; it seemed so long ago. The white and yellow flashes, the knife-sharp raindrops, the arms, the _thing_… He shook his head quickly to clear his head. He had to stop thinking about that night. The doctor said that would help him recover quickly and easily. But he couldn't. He couldn't stop remembering.

"We're so sorry, buddy." Kendall finished. James and Logan nodded, tears in their eyes.

Carlos looked back at them. They were his friends; probably his only friends. He had blurry memories of times they had been there for him. If he didn't forgive them, they'd leave him. Then he'd be all alone, just like that night…

"Not mad." The three older boys looked up in surprise.

"What?" Logan asked.

"It's okay." Carlos said.

James smiled softly. "Oh, Carlos. You're perfect." He said.

"We're really sorry." Logan added.

"We love you so much." Kendall said.

Carlos had heard those words so many times these days, and he was starting to believe them. His friends cared, and so he cared back, too.

"Really?" He had to make sure. He had to make sure this wasn't a joke.

The three stared at Carlos and nodded. "Really." They answered together. Carlos didn't know how they did it; they really must be real close to have that kind of talent.

And so for the fist time in about a month, the two corners of Carlos's mouth curled up, and he smiled. It wasn't a big one, but it was there.

And Kendall, James, and Logan wouldn't have traded that smile for anything in the world.

_Line line line _

In about two more weeks, the doctors said that Carlos could finally go home. If he got better, then he wouldn't have to come back. But if he stayed the same or worsened in another week, then he had to come back to the hospital and hang out there for another week.

Carlos seemed happy to go home, but these days, it was hard to tell his emotions. He didn't smile that much, and talked even less.

But the boys never pushed him. They knew what he'd been through was far beyond their understanding. But Carlos knew that it was even worse than that. What he had been through was beyond millions of people's understanding.

A huge banner greeted him when he entered a place called the "Palm Woods". Carlos was glad he could still read. He was afraid he might've forgotten.

There were at least 20 people there, and Carlos smiled at the huge banner and the people. He wasn't used to seeing this many people, being stuck in the hospital all day. He wasn't used to seeing all the pretty colors on the banner, either, but he knew he loved it.

"Thank you." Carlos turned to his three best friends.

"Anything for you, Carlos." James grinned back. Though the others couldn't hear the conversation, they could tell that Carlos enjoyed what they had done for him, at least a little bit.

He saw people he sort of remembered. There was that girl who slapped people, the fat red-headed kid who hid in trash cans for some reason he couldn't remember, the bearded man with a plumber, the mean guy who gave people keys… there were so many others, but those were ones he remembered the most.

He found himself eating lots of food. He didn't remember them by their names until he tasted and saw them for himself. /Then, the memories came flooding back to him. Cake, cookies, pizza, Sprite, ice cream, and corndogs. Carlos ate a lot of those, and everyone was glad to see that _that_ part of Carlos hadn't disappeared.

When the party was starting to end, the Palm Woods got together and took a group picture. When they were done, the group scattered and started to clean up. It was still the afternoon, and the sun was just starting to set. Carlos thought it looked beautiful.

But then, when Carlos surveyed all the people who seemed like they cared, he saw it.

He froze, his eyes widening and his legs feeling like jelly. It was _him._ It was _him._

Kendall turned and looked at Carlos's unnaturally pale face. "What's wrong, buddy?" He asked, a concerned tone in his voice.

Carlos felt his vision blurring, and he felt himself fall. But before he felt black surround him, he saw _him_, the evil smirk and the scary grin on his face.

_Line line line _

"Carlos!" Kendall shouted, catching his friend before he fell and caused himself even more injury. He was already in an arm cast, and Kendall didn't want more damage to be done to him.

The Palm Woods gasped, their eyes widening in fear.

"Carlos! Wake up, buddy. Don't worry, everything's fine." Kendall put Carlos's head in his lap and trailed his fingers in Carlos's black hair. In a few moments, Carlos stirred and groggily forced his eyes open.

"Carlos, it's okay, bud. Let's take you back home." Kendall picked Carlos up and everyone watched as the two entered the elevator. The small 'ding' sound the elevator made startled everyone out of their daze.

"Sorry, guys… Carlos is still a little fragile. He's still recovering." Logan explained. But Carlos had never fainted before.

Everyone just nodded, still shook up from the event. But they turned back to what they were doing. Except for one person.

"Unbelievable" He muttered, shaking his head. If anyone was paying enough attention to notice, they would've heard the unmistakable jealously and hatred in his voice.

**A/N- So… How'd ya think? This chapter was a bit rushed… but I didn't know how to write Carlos in the hospital, it was getting boring…**

**But now this mystery occurs. Why did Carlos faint? Who is this "he"? And why is he jealous?**

**It's really complicated, so I would be really surprised if one of ya guessed who it is… and why… And what that person did to Carlos…**

**Please review, guys? I saw a drop of reviews last chapter… and now I'm feeling… down, you could say… so please review? **

**Peace, Love, Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	10. Found?

_**Chapter 10**_

Kendall set Carlos on the couch gently. "Shh, it's okay. What's wrong, man?" Carlos hadn't stopped crying since he saw 'him." Kendall wasn't sure who 'he' was, and frankly, he didn't think he wanted to know.

"Him." Carlos sobbed, burying his wet face into Kendall's shirt Kendall sat down near his youngest friends, his hand patting his back gently.

"Okay, bud, can you calm down, please?" Honestly, the crying was making Kendall nervous, and he could feel a headache arriving. Carlos sniffled a few times and slowly nodded.

In a few minutes, Carlos's tears ceased. He took a deep breath, his cheeks burning red. His eyes were puffy and red.

"What happened out there, buddy?" Kendall asked. Carlos had seen something or someone, and he had just freaked. Kendall had never seen Carlos so upset before. Not when he was bullied by these guys in Minnesota, not when his dog died, not when he lost his helmet. This was seriously horrible if it made Carlos cry this hard.

"It's him." Carlos got out, his voice hoarse and painful.

Kendall wrinkled his eyes in confusion and worry. "Who?" Kendall asked softly

Carlos shook his head. "Can't tell." He said bluntly.

"Why, Carlos? Why can't you tell me?" Kendall asked. Had this person threatened Carlos to not tell anyone what happened? Kendall felt the urge to punch something. How could someone be so cruel? And worst of all, that person was in the Palm Woods. They were one of their friends, one of their fellow people. Who could betray them like this?

"Don't remember." Carlos said. And he was telling the truth. He forgot the person's name; only what he looked like. Carlos knew he'd seen him before; he just didn't know where or when. He couldn't shake off what had happened that night…. But he knew it was better not to tell his friends. It would worry them too much, and Carlos didn't want them to worry about him.

"Carlos. Buddy, what happened that night?" Kendall asked. Why wouldn't Carlos tell him? Carlos never kept things to himself. Whenever they guys gave him a secret to keep, he blurted out to someone an hour later. So how could he be keeping this secret so well?

"No." Carlos said firmly. Something in his voice told Kendall that it was worse than he thought. This wasn't just Carlos falling and scarping his knee. It wasn't about bullies pushing him around. This wasn't his puppy dying. This was something more, something horrible. Something that Kendall knew he'd never be able to understand. He hadn't been through what Carlos had.

"It's okay, buddy. I won't ask if you don't want to tell." Kendall replied. What was the point of pressuring Carlos right now? He'd just come out of the hospital, and he wasn't ready to tell yet. Kendall respected that, even though his curiosity and worry was practically eating him up.

Carlos nodded. Part of him was glad Kendall didn't push farther. But another part sort of hoped that Kendall was keep on asking him until he had no choice but to tell. He didn't know it he wanted to tell or not. He wanted to catch this person; punish him. But he didn't want people to look at him like he was some sort of poor boy, either. He didn't want people to feel bad for him just because of what had happened.

"Sleep?" Carlos asked quietly. Kendall understood what his friend wanted, and he helped Carlos into his room. He tucked him in, and heard someone coming into his apartment.

"Good night, buddy. I'll see you when you wake up, alright?" Carlos nodded with a tired look on his face. Soon, he was fast asleep. Kendall smiled and closed the door quietly as he walked out of Carlos's room.

James and Logan were there to greet them. "So?" Logan prompted.

Kendall shook his head. "He wouldn't tell me. Maybe he's not ready, you know?"

James sighed. "But we _have_to know! This guy lives in the Palm Woods, and he was at the party! That doesn't give us much options, so we can narrow it down!" He cried, his heart pumping with anticipation and fear. What if this person was dangerous? What if they came and tried to kill them, too? But still, James was determined to find this person and make him pay for whatever he'd done to poor Carlos.

"But it could be anyone!" Logan said. How could they narrow it down? There were about fifty people at the party. It could be _anyone_.

"But we know it's not a girl, right?" Kendall pointed out.

"We don't know that for sure!" James argued.

"Yeah, but remember how Carlos was scared of men, not women. So it has to be a man, and not a woman." Kendall reminded them.

Logan thought about that for a moment. "But this man could have had an accomplice. He could've had help. And maybe Carlos didn't see _that_ person. That accomplice could've been a girl. And what if he had _more_ than one accomplice?"

James felt his head starting to ache. "Logan, you're giving us too much information! It's hurting my head to take in all of this."

Logan rolled his eyes, despite the situation. "Just being logical." He said.

James snorted. "Whatever."

Kendall sighed. "Alright. Who could have a motive for hurting Carlos? Or any of us?"

"Bitters." James answered immediately.

Kendall shook his head. "No, when we took the picture, Bitters wasn't there. He was 5K, helping that fat dude with whatever." He pointed out.

"But it's still possible. Carlos could've had a hallucination or something." Logan pointed out, ever being the logical and realistic one.

Kendall groaned. "We'll never find the criminal." He said, putting his head in his hands.

"But we can't give up. Carlos needs us." James added. He'd never seen Kendall so down before? He would never back down from something like this.

"I know that there isn't someone who hates me, so they couldn't have done it because of hatred for me." Logan said thoughtfully. He didn't really have any enemies, so he knew it wasn't because of him that this person hurt Carlos. Then, he suddenly thought of it.

"That's it!" He shouted, standing up. James and Kendall flinched at the sudden noise.

"What's it?" James asked.

"Who hates Kendall more than anything in the world?" Logan hinted, smirking.

Kendall and James shared a glance with each other, their eyes flashing.

"Jett Stetson."

_Line line line _

Jett Stetson was pacing the lobby. He was bored. He had nothing to do. Just as he was about to approach the vending machine to buy some snacks, he felt someone push him harshly into the wall. He looked up and saw Kendall Knight's green eyes and his blonde hair.

"Sup, Knight?" Jett greeted calmly. He was completely confused, but he wasn't scared. Kendall couldn't beat him up. He was way stronger.

"What did you do to Carlos?" Kendall practically hissed. Jett smirked and glanced at James and Logan, who were standing at a cautious distance. They looked shocked that Kendall was being so violent to Jett right now.

"Kendall, violence is never the answer. You gotta calm down, man." Jett said soothingly. He didn't know _what_ was up with Knight today, but it wasn't pretty.

"_Calm__down?_ How can I calm down after what you did?"

Jett raised an eyebrow. "What did I do?" He urged Kendall on, eager to hear the story.

"You did something to Carlos!" Kendall said bluntly.

Jett rolled his eyes. "You don't even know what happened, and you're just accusing me?"

Kendall nodded his head vigorously. "You know what you did, didn't you?"

He punched Jett in the nose, and Jett felt blood trickling down his face.

"Why would I hurt Carlos?" He asked sincerely.

"You hate me! This is your revenge, isn't it?" Kendall growled, pulling his fist back for another harsh punch. "Carlos said someone hurt him, and it changed him more than anything else could. It's you, isn't it? Why would you be so evil, Jett?" Kendall was about to release his fist into Jett's face.

But Jett stopped him. He let out a sad sob. Kendall's fist pulled away, surprise filling him. Jett never cried. Jett never showed his weakness.

"Kendall." Jett whispered, his attitude changing completely. He felt the regret and the guilt filling in his body. This was all his fault.

"What?" Kendall answered harshly.

Jett's tears cascaded down his face. "I'm sorry."

**A/N- So… whaddya think happened? The suspense! I love suspenseful stuff! **

**I really don't have much to say this time… my fastest update in a long time… ;)**

**Your reviews are really appreciated! I love all you reviewers and readers! You guys are rockin' awesome! **

**So who else do you think was involved? Do you think anyone else was involved, or was it just one person? And I'll bet ya, there'll be a surprise you ain't expecting next chapter! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	11. Revealed

_**Chapter 11**_

"What do you mean?" Kendal asked harshly, pushing Jett into the brick wall. Jett stumbled a few steps, then regained his balance and started telling his rival everything he had done to Carlos.

"I was in the hospital one late night. I was visiting my aunt, who had cancer. We didn't know if she'd last the night or not, so I vowed to see her one last time. But before I walked down to my aunt's room, I heard shouting and crying and just a bunch of chaos. I looked behind me and saw this guy getting pushed into the hospital." His voice cracked then, and he looked away.

Kendall didn't know what to say. What had Jett done? What had he done to Carlos?

"I leaned in to get a closer look and saw it was Carlos. I felt bad for him. I have a heart, even though you may not think so." Jett smiled weakly, and Kendall's anger started dissolving into curiosity and fear of what Jett was going to say next.

"But then I saw you guys running after the doctors, shouting who knows what. And you guys didn't see me in your blind rush, but I saw you guys clear as the sky. And thought of how lucky Carlos was to have such great f-friends as you guys." Jett said, tears pouring from his eyes. He didn't even care that Kendall may never let him live it down. He had to tell his story.

"And then I thought of how unlucky I was to have no one. I have no girlfriend, and I have no life. And I blamed you, Kendall, for my girlfriend problem. So I asked snuck outside your room one day and heard you guys talking about how it was all your fault, and the prank you played on Carlos."

James gasped. "You know about that?" He shrieked.

"Yeah, but I promise I won't tell anyone." Jett answered quickly, not wanting to get anyone upset. This was important.

"And so… I w-went back to Palm Woods and t-told everyone about Carlos and how it was all you guys' fault that Carlos was in the hospital." Jett whispered. "I'm so sorry, Kendall."

Kendall nodded. "But… so… that's all you did? Nothing else?" When Jett nodded, the guys couldn't help but believe him. Jett had told them things he'd never tell them for a million bucks. He'd never admit to his weaknesses, and here he was, his pride broken and tears pouring down his tan face. Jett had changed. Carlos's accident had changed him. And the guys like the new Jett.

"Carlos freaked back there because he said he saw _him_. We don't know who "him" is yet, and we want to find out what they did. But we believe you, Jett. We thought it was you. I'm sorry, too, Jett, for accusing you. I'm glad you're different now." Kendall smiled at Jett. Jett. His long time rival. Jett and Kendall had sealed the rip between their friendship, and now they were starting over again. This time starting over again and starting as new as ever.

"Thanks, Kendall." The two held out their hands and hesitantly shook them. They had to work together now. Only Jett knew what had happened, and he made a mistake. But everyone made mistakes, didn't they? The three boys of Big Time Rush knew that more than anyone else. After all, Jett had hated Kendall. It was almost expected of him to make a huge mistake like that for revenge or just for the sake of it. Kendall, James, and Logan loved Carlos, and yet they'd gotten Carlos into a hospital, and changed him forever.

_Line line line_

Kendall paced the kitchen of Apartment 2J anxiously. "What happened to Carlos?" He kept asking himself. He thought and thought, but he couldn't think of any situation that could fit with getting hit by a car. Kendall's mind was blank. He had no idea what to think.

"Dude, you gotta stop berating yourself for this. Maybe Carlos will tell us sooner or later. We can't force it out of him. We gotta give him some time, Kendall." Logan said. His powerful words made Kendall smile.

"Nice pep talk. You're right." Logan blushed.

"I think I've been spending way too much time with you, Kendall. You're starting to rub off of me." Logan replied, chuckling. The mood was lightened for a second, until they heard Carlos starting to wake up.

"Well, I guess we can try to ask him now." James suggested as all three of them stood up. Kendall and Logan shrugged, not really hearing what James had just said.

"Hey, buddy." James greeted as they walked into Carlos's room. Carlos just groaned and pulled the pillow over his tan face.

"Dude, you gotta tell us what's bothering you." Kendall chided gently. Carlos just shook his head, not ready to say anything yet. He didn't think he'd _ever_ be ready to tell his best friends what had happened to him that horrible night. He just wanted to stop thinking about it, but his friends were making it so hard.

"Never." He said with such firmness and confidence in his voice that it made Kendall, James, and Logan want to just leave him alone. Carlos was hardly ever that confident in himself about something not related to his helmet or food. He'd always thought he was the slacker, and that he wouldn't really succeed in anything important. But here he was, sounding like he was completely sure that it was a smart move to not tell anyone about what happened.

"Carlos, we gotta know, buddy. We gotta catch this bad guy and send him to jail."

Carlos sat up all of a sudden, fear filling his eyes. "No!" He begged desperately. Kendall shared a glance with James and Logan. What had happened to Carlos? They'd asked this question to themselves more than 100 times already, but it didn't seem like they were getting an answer anytime soon.

"Why, Carlos?"

"I'll die." Carlos choked out, tears flowing down his face.

"You won't die, buddy." Kendall replied, shocked.

"He said." Carlos cried, sobs choking his voice. Kendall quickly pulled Carlos into his lap, stroking the Latino's black hair. He was careful not to hurt any of Carlos's broken body parts.

"Carlitos, he'll never hurt you again." Logan promised gently. Carlos still shook his head vigorously.

"I can't." He said stubbornly.

"Yes you can, buddy. Don't you trust us?" James asked.

Carlos looked up and into the eyes of his three best friends. He'd been drifting away from them ever since he woke from the accident. He never spoke more than 2 words when he was talking to them, because honestly? He was scared. He was scared that they'd hate him forever. He was scared that they would get mad at him and do something bad to him. He didn't trust them, and that hurt and confused him more than ever.

"No." James's mouth opened in shock. Carlos didn't trust them? Were they just strangers to Carlos? Were they just bad guys waiting to attack in Carlos's eyes?

"Why, man? We're your best friends." Kendall said desperately. If Carlos didn't trust him, then they'd never know what happened to him. They'd never have Carlos as a friend again, and that couldn't happen. None of them would be able to handle it.

"We stick up for each other no matter what, Carlos. We'd do anything for you. And I promise you that we won't get angry or sad or disappointed in anything you say, bud." Kendall continued. Carlos wondered how Kendall always knew what to say. His vague memories of times in the past convinced that maybe Kendall was a mind reader.

Carlos thought about all the times the guys had been there for him. When he was sick, Logan had taken care of him. When he lost his helmet, James had helped him find it. When his first girlfriend broke up with him and dumped soda on his head, Kendall had been there to comfort him. Carlos knew that he should trust them, and he was starting to trust them. They cared about him. They really did.

And so Carlos took a deep breath, and made one of the biggest decisions of his life.

"Okay." Kendall, James, and Logan smiled when Carlos finally agreed to tell them his big secret. Carlos knew that he could trust them. They'd been there ever since he was in kindergarten.

"We're ready, Carlos. Just take you time, buddy." James said softly. He wasn't sure if he was ready to hear whatever Carlos was about to say.

Carlos wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt. "A man…" He started, not knowing how to deliver the news.

Kendall smiled encouragingly. "What did he do?" He prodded gently.

"He… he…" Carlos thought that he'd explode with fear. What if the guy came in and just killed him right after he told Kendall and James and Logan what he'd done to Carlos?

"If he comes, Carlos, we'll fight him off. We're stronger than you think we are, Carlos." Logan said comfortingly. And surprisingly, Carlos believed them.

"He what, buddy?" James urged him on.

Carlos looked at them with the most broken, scared, and sad eyes any of them had ever seen.

"Raped me."

**A/N- Gosh… I better go change the rating on this story… ;) Were you guys expecting that? Next chapter's gonna be dark… I think… I don't think I can live to write it... chokes and dies.**

**Just kidding, I'm still alive, relax… what do you think happened? And I bet none of you expected that maybe Jett didn't actually do it… he just led up to the "event" happening. All that will be explained someday in one of these future chapter! **

**Review? They're like chocolate to me! I love chocolate! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle! **


	12. Who?

_**Chapter 12**_

"No. No way." Kendall whispered, half to himself and half to Carlos.

"Are you serious?" Logan asked quietly, starting to hyperventilate. James put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder, preventing him from farther stressing himself out.

"Oh Carlos… I'm so sorry." James said, his throat starting to feel dry.

"Carlos, why didn't you tell us?" Kendall asked gently, shaking his head. Why wouldn't Carlos have told them something as serious as this? They could've caught the criminal by now… at least they would've had a head start or something.

"Yeah, we wouldn't have gotten mad at you." Right after James said it, he wanted to smack himself hard. _Duh_, they wouldn't have gotten mad at him. That probably wasn't the reason Carlos didn't tell them. They would never be mad at him again after what had happened, and Carlos knew that more than anything else.

"Too scared." Carlos whimpered, burying his face into Kendall's white shirt. Kendall sighed and brought Carlos in a hug.

"Oh, buddy, please don't be scared." Kendall begged him. Carlos couldn't be scared anymore. He'd been through so much, and this rape thing just made it even more to bear. Carlos wouldn't ever be the same again. All of them knew that, it was just that they didn't want to believe it. They loved the old Carlos, not the new one, who never said anything and lay in bed all day.

"Yeah, we'll protect you from all those big bad people." James assured him. Carlos looked up and wiped a tear away from his face.

"Pr-promise?" Logan's heart practically cracked when he heard the pitiful voice that Carlos now possessed. Carlos was always so daring, so sure of himself. Logan wished he were like that sometimes. He was timid, shy, scared. But now Carlos seemed to be a replica of Logan Mitchell.

Logan knew he had to be strong and confident now, so Carlos could recover faster. He couldn't be so shy now, or Carlos would just have another reason to be scared.

"We promise, Carlos." Logan said, his voice not even cracking one bit. He sounded confident for once, and that surprised both Kendall and James.

"Thank you." Carlos whispered, his voice so calm and so _Carlos_ that they guys had to smile. Carlos was starting to get better, but he still was in the fragile stage of his recovery.

Kendall wrapped his arm around Carlos's shoulder, and the Latino snuggled his head into the crook of Kendall neck. He fell asleep in less than a minute, his soft and even breathing comforting the three others boys for the moment. But that moment disappeared as quickly as it had come, and yet again, the guys were faced with what they had done.

"Oh my gosh… I can't believe someone would do that to Carlos." Logan said, shock written all over his face. He buried his face into James's chest, taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down. James patted his back awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Logan wasn't like this. He never shoved his face into anyone. That was Carlos's thing, hands down.

"And to think that it was someone _here_ in the Palm Woods makes me even angrier." Kendall glared at the floor, thinking of all the possibilities. Obviously, it wasn't a girl, but a girl could've been the guy's helper or accomplice or something like that. It was so confusing, and so far, they didn't even have a tiny clue as to who it was. Except that this person lived here in the Palm Woods. They didn't know anything else, and that worried and scared them even more.

"We've _got_ to find out who it was!" James shouted suddenly, reaching over Kendall and shaking Carlos violently. His worry and panic took over his body, and he wasn't even aware of what he was doing.

"Dude! What the heck!" Kendall shoved James back, and James didn't retaliate. He didn't even know why the heck he did that…

Carlos stirred and forced open his brown eyes. "What?" He groaned, feeling tired and drowsy and scared. James stared at him guiltily, and Kendall glared at James.

"Carlos… since you're awake now… mind telling us who it was?" James said, getting straight to the point. There was no point in beating around the bush right now, was it? Logan took his face away from James, and stood up.

Carlos shook his head almost immediately. "No!" He shrieked, starting to sob and sniffle and all kinds of stuff. James sighed sadly. They _had_ to make Carlos tell them, or they'd never know. Carlos had to trust them and want to tell him. Or this guilty man would get away from raping a poor, innocent, young boy like Carlos. James wouldn't ever be able to stand that.

"Carlos, we need to know so the police can catch these people. Then they'll take them to jail, and they'll never be able to hurt you again, buddy." Kendall assured him, stroking Carlos's hair and muttering for him to calm down.

"No." Carlos got out minutes later, his voice choked and painful. It sounded like he was swallowing glass or something. His voice sounded so hurt and so scared. His eyes also reflected what his voice sounded like. Scared and hurt and unsure about something.

"Please, Carlos. We need to know." James urged him on slightly. He didn't think he'd live if he didn't know who had hurt Carlos.

"No." Carlos whimpered, starting to shrink away from James's glare. James quickly softened his face. It probably reminded Carlos of the horrible thing that had happened to him.

"Dude, don't pressure him. He'll tell in his own good time." Kendall told James. Logan nodded, not wanting to say anything at the moment. Carlos gave them a half smile, showing that he was grateful. James smiled back, Logan nodded, and Kendall just patted Carlos's back.

"Don't worry, we'll be patient and wait until you finally want to tell us, alright bud?" Kendall smiled in relief when Carlos nodded meekly.

"Soon." Carlos whispered.

"Soon." Kendall repeated, wanting to believe it. It was hard to know when Carlos would actually decide to tell. But he was sure that Carlos wouldn't lie. He'd tell them soon. No one knew what soon, meant, but they were willing to wait until then.

_Line line line _

"Now what? Those three know about us now." A man yelled at a woman, both of their faces showing anger and disbelief. They had specifically told that boy not to tell anyone. _Anyone._ And in just a few months, he'd spilled. At least he hadn't told them who they were yet. Their identity was a secret to only them and that boy. Carlos. Carlos Garcia. 16 years old.

The two had just crept away from the window of 2J. They climbed down the rope hanging on the side of the building and landed smoothly on the ground, pulling the rope down with them. Through all that, they never even made a sound. No one would ever expect it to be _them_.

"Kendall's never gonna love Carlos again after this. He's never going to be the same." The woman snarled, jealousy and want in her eyes.

The man chuckled. "And now I'm going to get my revenge!" He sneered, clasping his hands together in victory.

"Not so fast. We've gotta go slow." The woman reminded the man.

"Yeah, whatever." The man replied.

"JB? When are we going to put Plan B into action?" The woman asked.

The man shrugged. "Well, since Plan A was a success, I guess we can give Plan B a try soon. But I wanna see them suffer. All of them. Each and everyone of them. Every-"

The woman rolled her eyes and punched JB's shoulder. "Shut up. I get it. No need to repeat it so many times."

The man chuckled. "Whatever you say, _my__lady._"

The man and the woman quickly walked away. Two silhouettes in the dark shadows of night.

**A/N- So… JB? Wonder who that is, huh? Well, guess! And the girl… he has an accomplice? But why are they doing this? All will be revealed soon! **

**Review? They mean so much to me, it's not even funny… ;)**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes…**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	13. Getting Closer?

_**Chapter 13**_

The next day, the guys tried to persuade Carlos to come outside with them. After 30 minutes of pleading, Carlos finally gave in and stepped into the elevator with his three best friends.

"We're gonna see who you still remember, alright?" Carlos nodded. He really wanted to remember more of his past. He was pretty sure he'd remember everyone in this place Kendall told him was called the "Palm Woods." Whatever _that_ meant.

When they exited the elevator, they bumped into a man with a huge beard and a bunch of brown and messy hair. He was carrying something black with a stick attached to it. It had a yellow smiley face on it, and it made Carlos smile, too.

"Carlos. This is Buddha Bob. Remember him?" James prodded Carlos gently. Carlos stared into Buddha Bob's brown eyes, trying to remember where he'd last seen this man.

"The Janitor." Carlos said in realization. Buddha Bob burst out laughing, clamping Carlos on the back and hurrying off to another clogged toilet's destination.

"Good job, buddy. Now, do you remember these girls?" James asked, pointing at the Jennifers as they walked by. Carlos stared. They were so _pretty_. It was funny how they all moved in the same way at the same time. And there was a fat kid following them with a fan. Hmm.

The Jennifers suddenly stopped, staring at Carlos with a look on their faces that no one had ever seen before. Sympathy. They felt bad for Carlos. They had a heart.

Carlos stared at them timidly. "Jeni… Jennifer?" He squeaked out. The Jennifers nodded and smiled, kissing Carlos gently on the cheeks. They walked away, the fat kid following them.

"That's Tyler, by the way." Kendall followed Carlos's eyes to the fat kid. Carlos nodded, remembering. He was on a juice box commercial.

"You used to love the Jennifers. You tried to ask them out whenever you could. It got really annoying." James explained. Carlos nodded. He'd forgotten that he'd ever like these girls so much. He still didn't remember much of them. He just remembered their names. Jennifer.

Suddenly, a girl with black hair came up to Logan and slapped him. Carlos let out a surprised squeak, hiding behind James. This girl looked intimidating. But Logan seemed to like her, because he put his arms around her waist.

"Camille. Logan's on and off girlfriend." Kendall said, smirking. Carlos nodded. Camille. The actor. Logan's girlfriend. Carlos remembered that she was nice when she wasn't acting.

"Hey, Carlos. How ya doing?" Camille asked softly, her face full of concern. Carlos shrugged, not trusting her to say anymore. He looked down, and Camille shared worried glances with the guys. Carlos was still so shy and so not… Carlos.

The guys waved goodbye to her and walked off to the next person who popped up. This time, it happened to be Jo. "Hey, guys!" She said happily, walking towards them quickly.

Carlos looked up and saw the prettiest girl he'd ever seen before. Wow. She had this yellowish whitish hair. Carlos didn't remember seeing that color hair before.

"Carlos, this is Jo. I don't really know if you remember her, but she's Kendall's girlfriend." James introduced. Jo waved.

"I'm glad to see you back, Carlos." She smiled, and put her hand on his shoulder. Carlos felt comforted when her hand touched his skin. She was a nice girl.

"Your hair." Carlos said, his voice full of awe. Jo immediately took her hand off Carlos's shoulder and put it on her head.

"What? Is my hair messy?" She asked worriedly. Kendall, James, and Logan chuckled.

"No, it's just that Carlos loves your hair. He's never seen a color like that yet." Kendall explained. It suddenly got awkward. Jo and the guys couldn't help but feel sad because the old Carlos was gone. The one who wouldn't even care about hair color.

"It's called blonde, buddy. Jo's hair is blonde." Logan suddenly blurted out, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Carlos nodded, still in shock about how people could have different color hair. It was so cool.

"Bye, Jo, I'll see ya tomorrow?" Kendall asked, winking. Jo smiled flirtatiously and nodded.

"At the Palm Woods Park." She replied, walking away. Kendall grinned after her, only stopping when James elbowed him in the chest.

"Dude, stop gaping after her like a love bird." Logan said. Kendall blushed and they kept on walking around the Palm Woods.

Carlos looked around at all the people he didn't yet remember yet. He felt left out, as if he'd just arrived in a dream of something, where everything seemed so familiar, yet so _unfamiliar._ He didn't really know how to explain it.

"Carlos, there's Guitar Dude. He's a guitar player who honestly, looks like a hobo." Kendall informed quietly, not wanting Guitar Dude to overhear.

"Guitar Dude!" James shouted. Guitar Dude looked up, smiled, and played a happy tune on his guitar.

"Sup, dude?" He said, his voice laid back and relaxed. Carlos wondered if he talked like that all the time.

"The little dude's back?" Guitar Dude said. Kendall nodded, and Guitar Dude grinned.

"We're glad your back, _dude_." Carlos noticed that he said _dude_ a lot.

"Hi." Carlos said quietly, trying to smile at Guitar Dude. He seemed nice.

Guitar Dude grinned back. "Nice seeing you again, dude. Later." He got up and walked into the bathroom. The boys led Carlos somewhere else.

Then, Carlos met a bunch of other people that he didn't really remember at all. There was some guy named Lisa, Sarah, Bob, Theodore, Cathy, and so on. Kendall said those people weren't really close to them, so Carlos probably wouldn't remember them.

Then, he saw a fat, mean man sitting at the counter, sipping lemonade.

"Scary." Carlos whimpered after seeing the man shout at someone.

Kendall followed Carlos's gaze and nodded. "Bitters. He's the hotel manager. He's really mean, cruel, a jerk, and… well, _bitter_." Kendall explained.

Bitters looked over at the boys. "Hey! You guys! What trouble are you gonna cause today?" He asked, obviously seeming annoyed.

"Nothing, Bitters, just showing Carlos around!" Logan called back innocently. Bitters glanced at Carlos and a small grin formed on his face. It was barely visible, and only lasted for about a second. But it was there, and the guys were also convinced that Bitters _did_ have a heart, just like the Jennifers. No one was completely cruel in this world.

Except maybe the idiot who raped Carlos. Kendall suddenly thought of something he was going to ask Carlos, but had forgotten to during their tour of the Palm Woods residents.

"Did you _him_ there, Litos?" Kendall asked cautiously. He didn't want to scare Carlos or seem like he was forcing him to tell him.

Carlos slowly and hesitantly nodded. "Can't tell." He whispered, tears filling his eyes.

James's eyes widened. "Are you sure? Why not?" He asked. They were getting closer and closer to finding the culprit. If Carlos could just open his mouth and answer them for once, then maybe they could catch this criminal.

"No." Carlos whispered, refusing to tell. Kendall, James, and Logan sighed in disappointment. They would _never_ find the culprit at this rate.

"Carlos, what are you afraid of? We're going to protect you, no matter what. Don't you understand that?" Logan said, his voice rising in panic. Why wouldn't Carlos tell? He was in danger every minute, and it seemed as though he didn't even care. _Why__wouldn__'__t__Carlos__tell?_

"Stop." Carlos said softly, his eyes starting to look scared. They were scaring him. Logan noticed this and softened his voice.

"I'm sorry I scared ya, buddy. But _please,_ remember that we'll protect you. If you tell us, then you'll never have to worry about him again." Logan soothed gently.

"I'm sorry." Carlos apologized. The guys nodded. He wasn't ready to tell yet. No matter how much it disappointed them, they knew they had to respect Carlos's decision. They would wait until Carlos opened up to them again.

Then, they could finally catch this horrible human being and hopefully never see him again.

_Line line line_

"We've _got_ to carry out Plan B already. Stop procrastinating!" The woman hissed angrily. The man just shrugged.

"We have to wait until the perfect time. We don't want to get caught, do we?" The woman reluctantly shook her head.

"Fine."

The man nodded, satisfied. "Okay, so the boy isn't telling. That's a good thing. I guess our threat really convinced him to keep his stupid little mouth shut. But when he does, I say we carry out Plan B." The man explained, loving his plan already.

The woman seemed to ponder this statement for a few minutes, and then nodded slowly. "Sound good to me. But what about the others?"

"We'll just leave them alone. They'll never know we're committing sins right behind their backs." The man said, smiling. They were awesome. They were _amazing._ They would get what they wanted, and everything would be perfect.

The man and the woman crossed their fingers and hoped that everything would work out as they planned. It just _had_ to.

**A/N- So… are ya getting closer to finding out? No one has guessed the whole part of it yet… so still, good luck! And just saying…**

**IT IS NOT JUSTIN BIEBER! I hate that guy… but he's not part of this story! No no no! **

**So… review? Please? I love all your reviews! They seriously help me keep going! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	14. Gaining Trust

_**Chapter 14**_

"I don't get it…" James started, trailing off. Logan stared at him with a confused look.

"What don't you get? X equals 45. It's as easy as that." Logan said. James shook his head quickly. How could Logan not get it?

"No I mean about Carlos. I don't get why he wouldn't tell us. I mean, if he did, then that man or woman would be gone forever. They're not gonna hurt him again." James explained. Logan nodded thoughtfully, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation to James's question.

"Well, what if the bad guy told Carlos that he'd come for him if he told?" Logan said. James shrugged, still not understanding.

"But they don't know where Carlos- _oh_." James said in realization. The criminal was _here_in the Palm Woods. He knew where they lived. Apartment 2J. It would be easy to break in through the door with a gun or something or climb through their window with a knife. Not only would Carlos be in danger of dying, _they_would, too.

"But Carlos knows that we'll protect him no matter what. So why is still so scared?" James asked quietly. He would sacrifice his _life_ for Carlos, even though the Carlos now wasn't the one from before.

Carlos used to be so loud and so crazy. Now, he was quiet and kept to himself most of the time. He was timid and scared of so many things now. He wore his helmet, but never did any of the stunts he used to do.

Suddenly, James and Logan turned to see Kendall walk through the bedroom door, where the two were currently "doing their homework." Logan nodded at Kendall, and Kendall just sat down.

"I heard what you guys were talking about." He said calmly, as if he didn't even care. But Kendall _did_ care. He just had to stay calm for his friend, or they'd freak, too. On the inside, Kendall Knight was scared and angry and worried. They had to find this criminal fast, or things would get really bad. He'd done some thinking on the subject, and he'd come up with a reasonable explanation for Carlos's stubbornness to tell them about the criminal.

"Okay, so do you know the answer?" Logan asked. He honestly had no clue why Carlos wouldn't tell them. All the things James said made perfect sense. For once, James had said something that Logan couldn't argue with using his logic.

"Well, I've been thinking. Carlos knows we'll protect him from anything, and that if he tells about the criminal, we'd all be in some trouble." Kendall started. James and Logan shared a confused glance with each other. Kendall continued.

"Carlos isn't worried about himself. Well, maybe that's part of it, but he's scared for _us_, guys. He's scared that _we__'__ll_ get hurt or get killed. He doesn't want that, so he'll keep on living in pain and fear because he's trying to protect_us_."

Logan stopped what he was doing and stared at the floor. Carlos was so selfless. Here he was, currently recovering from getting _raped_, and he was still worrying about their safety. Carlos may be innocent, but sometimes, he was the most amazing person Logan had ever known in his life. And Logan knew a lot of people, and most of them were smart. He knew James and Kendall were thinking about something similar, for they both had tears in their eyes to match Logan's.

"There's no one like him." Kendall whispered. James and Logan nodded, and they sat there together, not saying anything. Because everything they could have said to each other was right there in their eyes.

They didn't keep track of the time or anything as they sat there, staring into nothing. They were violently jerked out of their thought when they heard the door opening. Carlos's face peeked into the room, his eyes curious and a little scared.

"Hey, Carlos." James smiled and motioned for Carlos to come sit next to him. Carlos did hesitantly, as if James would hurt him or something.

"We were just thinking." Logan explained. They probably looked a big scary, their eyes zoned out and their faces blank. Carlos nodded and put his head on James's shoulder.

"What's up, buddy?" Kendall asked gently.

Carlos sighed. "I'm scared." He whimpered quietly, burying his face into the crook of James's neck. James looked a bit shocked that Carlos did that all of a sudden, but quickly recovered and wrapped his arm around Carlos.

"Dude, it's okay. Everything's alright." Logan said, trying to sound comforting. Carlos just nodded and made a strange noise that sounded like a whimper and a grunt. Carlos slowly took his face out of James's neck and stared at all of them.

Carlos was starting to trust his friends again. They had been there for him this whole time, and he'd really appreciated it. Every day a new memory popped into his head. All of them were about how his friends were always there for him and each other. Carlos knew that these people were good guys, and he didn't have to worry when he was around them.

Kendall. James. Logan. Those three names gave him comfort. He wanted things to be like it was in those memories he had every day. They were all happy, and he was that crazy little guy just running around crashing into things. Carlos didn't remember doing a lot of that… but he decided that he thought it seemed pretty cool. He'd figured that the first step to getting things back to normal was to just open up to them more. Talk to them more.

"He didn't mean to." Carlos said, looking up from the string he was playing with on Logan's bed. The guys all stared at him in shock. They hadn't heard Carlos say that much since… 3 months ago. Or maybe even more.

"Who?" Logan asked.

Carlos bit his lower lip. "The guy. He didn't mean to."

"Carlos, how would you know? He's a bad guy; bad guys are _never_ good." Kendall said, saying it in a way that proved that he wasn't angry at Carlos or anything like that.

"He told me." Carlos said simply, taking off his helmet and fiddling with it in his hands. Well, _hand_. His other arm was still in a cast.

"_What?_" James shrieked. "Sorry," he mumbled after seeing that he scared Carlos.

"Before he did it." Carlos explained bluntly. The other three shared scared glances at each other. What had this evil person said to Carlos?

"Carlos, why can't you tell us? We _need_ to know." James suddenly said, his face filled with pain and worry and concern. He was desperate to know who did this thing to Carlos. He needed his revenge. He _needed_ to punish this freak.

"He did it for revenge, too, James." Carlos said softly. James softened when he heard Carlos say his name out loud.

"Really?" Carlos nodded, and James pulled his youngest friend into a half hug kind of thing.

"I'll tell you if you want." Carlos suggested quietly. James perked up and grinned.

"_Please,_ Carlos, I have to know." Carlos swallowed and sighed.

"Okay…" Carlos said. All of the guys cheered and buried Carlos in their hugs. Carlos was a bit taken aback and intimidated, but soon found that he loved hugging, too.

"Start whenever you're ready, buddy." Kendal prompted him. He was impatient to know, but he knew that Carlos had to take his time. This wasn't something anyone would want to tell on a daily basis.

"He had a helper." Carlos said.

"He did? Do you know who?" Logan asked. They were getting closer and closer to finding the culprit. Everything counted on this story Carlos would tell them soon.

"No."

Kendall nodded and told Carlos to continue.

Carlos glanced at each of his friends. They loved him, and he was starting to love them back, too. So he mustered up all his courage and started to tell the story that had changed his life so much.

**A/N- So… whaddya think happened? Well, no one can really guess it yet… cuz, you know… NO ONE KNOWS WHO THE CULPRIT IS YET! ;) And the helper dude/dudett is still anonymous, too! **

**Sorry about the length of this chapter… I'm so hyped for Thanksgiving Break! YAY!**

**Review? It means more than… more than a lot of things in my life… **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	15. The Story

_**Chapter 15**_

"You know how Gustavo said he toured a bunch of cities and you were the one he chose?" Carlos asked Kendall hesitantly. Kendall nodded, remembering that great memory.

"But before you decided and called him, Gustavo went to a different city and he found someone else. Someone not as good as you, but someone who had some of the "fire" he was looking for." Carlos explained. The guys nodded eagerly, wanting to hear what this had to do with anything.

Carlos took a deep breath and continued. "So when you called, Gustavo told that guy that he was fired. The guy was really angry, because it was his _dream_ to be famous. And he was even angrier when Gustavo told him that there were _four_ of us, three with "no talent." Carlos said. He didn't want to get to the bad part yet. But he knew he had to.

The guys glanced at each other, fear in their eyes. The story already sounded like it would end horribly. It probably would, too.

"Since he was threatening to sue Gustavo in court, Gustavo promised him that he'd give him a room at the Palm Woods. The guy agreed, and he moved in. But he was still mad at Big Time Rush for stealing his dream. He wanted revenge." Carlos paused to see the looks on his friends' faces. Honestly, talking so much was tiring him out. How did he do it so much before?

Kendall looked angry. James looked concerned. Logan looked scared. Carlos felt all of those feelings at once, and they were all probably on his face, too.

"So that's why." Carlos finished simply, turning around to walk out of the room. Kendall and James and Logan blinked in shock from Carlos's unexpected leave.

"Dude! That's it?" James cried, looking surprised. Carlos simply nodded, but he stayed where he was. He knew they were going to ask who it was, and he didn't know if he was ready or not to tell them yet.

"Carlos, it feels like you're leaving something out." Logan added gently. He couldn't imagine that that was the end of the story. But maybe that was it. Maybe that was how horrible the person was. He tried to rape someone just for revenge? Logan found that hard to believe.

"No, well… I don't know if I remember all of it. But I'm pretty sure that's it."

Kendall stood up and placed his hand on Carlos's shoulder. "Buddy, the story's not finished until you tell us who this person was." Carlos sighed and looked down at the ground.

"I… I don't know if I can." Carlos told them softly. He really had no idea. He always imagined that if he told someone, stuff would start exploding around him and gunshots would be heard. But he started to think that those reactions weren't going to be so immediate. There were no secret security cameras in their Apartment, so _he_ wouldn't even know if Carlos told someone.

"Carlos, are you sure?" Logan asked gently. "We'll protect you, promise."

Carlos looked at Kendall, then Logan, then James, and then finally at his hands. "Okay. I think I can." He could see all of their faces lighting up after he said that.

Carlos bit his lip and looked around. He spotted nothing out of the usual, so he took a deep breath and told them something that would shock and confuse them to no end.

"Jake Blanchard." Kendall, James, and Logan wore looks of confusion.

"Wha?" James said, his face blank. Carlos looked up at them.

"It's his real name. I'm pretty sure you don't know him by his real name… but I guess you guys call him Guitar Dude."

Kendall, James, and Logan wore shocked expressions on their faces this time. Carlos almost laughed at how still they were being. Everything was silent for a long time, and Carlos was starting to feel as though something weren't right. He felt like something bad was going to happen, but he shrugged it off as nothing.

"G-guitar Dude?" Logan squeaked, being the first one to break the silence.

"Yeah, I always wondered why he lived here but didn't have a real career." Carlos thought out loud. The guys found this to be a very good point. Carlos could be really smart sometimes. But they still couldn't believe it. _Guitar__Dude?_ He seemed like an innocent person. He seemed oblivious to what went on around him, and he was always nice to them. But maybe he was an actor, because he sure did a great job of pretending to be nice and helpful.

"I can't believe he would do something like that." James whispered. Guitar Dude. Out of everyone, it was Guitar Dude. James had kind of like Guitar Dude. He helped him play music on dates and stuff, and he was a really cool guy. But not anymore. Not now that his secret was revealed. He was busted for sure now.

"Oh, Carlos… I'm so sorry you had to go through all that." Kendall said sympathetically. If he were in Carlos's place, he would've locked himself in his room for days and days. Carlos was actually pretty brave in Kendall's eyes. Now Kendall finally realized why Carlos had been so uncooperative the past few weeks.

"It's now your fault." Carlos said, suddenly seeing the events in his eyes once more. It was so dark… so dark. Carlos shrieked, and Kendall asked if something was wrong.

"I was just… just thinking about what happened. "Carlos said in a quiet voice. He took a deep breath and decided to tell his friends about it, too.

_ Carlos saw lights in the distance, and suddenly, he felt pain erupt everywhere in his body. "Ow!" Carlos shrieked. He had never felt such pain. He wanted the pain to stop now. He couldn't take it anymore. Everywhere in his body hurt so bad. "Oww!"_

_ "Hey, if it isn't Carlos Garcia." A cold voice snarled. Carlos heard someone slamming a car door and walking towards him quickly. Carlos saw a figure bend down next to him, chuckling and calling him horrible names. Carlos whimpered, wishing this person could just call 911 and tell them that he'd been hit by a car or something._

_ Just then, it hit him. The man had hit him on purpose. But why?_

_ "H-help me." Carlos called out in a pathetic voice. The man just laughed and shook his head. Carlos whimpered and cried, not knowing why he was hurting so much._

_ "Oh, no way, buddy. I'm gonna have some fun with you tonight." The man snarled. Carlos whimpered at the horrible sound that his voice possessed._

_ "Who-who are you?" Carlos got out._

_ "Guitar Dude, dude." Guitar Dude said quietly, snarling. Carlos opened his eyes, and felt blood dripping into them._

_ "Please don't h-hurt me." Carlos whimpered in a desperate voice. _

_ "Oh buddy, I'm gonna hurt you bad."_

_ Carlos suddenly felt Guitar Dude pulling down his pants, and shrieked in fear._

_"__Someone!__Someone__help!__Pl-please!__" __Carlos__cried,__tears__and__blood__dripping__down__his__face.__He__was__injured,__and__now__someone__was_raping_him.__Carlos__didn__'__t__want__this__at__all._

_ "Wh-whatever I did, p-please forgive me! I didn't m-mean to!" Carlos cried harder and harder as he felt Guitar Dude start… raping him._

_ "Help me! HELP ME!" Carlos yelled as loudly as he could. Then, he felt absolute darkness as Guitar Dude finished his revenge job._

"Carlos…" Logan said, trailing off. What could any of them say? This _thing_ that had happened to Carlos was horrible. There was nothing they could say or do to help him recover. He had been freaking _raped_, for God's sake!

"Sorry, please don't worry about it!" Carlos said quickly. It was over now, and he didn't want them to keep on worrying about the past. Carlos had learned that there really wasn't any use doing that. Carlos knew that from experience.

"Alright, if you say so, buddy. But we love you, and we'll catch this guy, alright?" The guys smiled when Carlos nodded. At least Carlos wasn't worrying about Guitar Dude coming to catch him anymore. They would protect him, and they would risk their lives for him at any time.

After all, Carlos was their best friend and their little brother.

_Line line line _

Little did the guys know that two figures were hanging right by their window. They were hanging on a rope that dropped to the ground two stories below.

"How dare that imbecile tell on us!" JB hissed at the woman. The woman nodded in agreement. How _dare_ him!

"I guess it's time to teach him a lesson, huh?" JB whispered to the woman. "Tell him what happens when he doesn't keep a promise, right?" Another nod. JB and the woman looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.

"Time for Plan B." They both said together.

**A/N- Uh oh… so were you guys expecting that? I've always wondered about that man…. Sigh. I never wondered about him in a good way, though… so don't get any thoughts. ;)**

**Please review? It means tons to me! Seriously! Love ya guys! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	16. Fake

_**Chapter 16**_

Kendall felt someone shaking his shoulder. He groaned, not ready to wake up yet. "Don't bother me." He said groggily. The figure standing before him whimpered and sniffled.

"Kendall…" He squeaked, starting to cry. Kendall quickly sat up, narrowly avoiding bumping his head on the wall. Carlos. He could tell Carlos's voice from any single voice in the world. It was so unique, and so comforting to him.

"Carlos? What's wrong?" Kendall asked quietly.

He heard Carlos sniffling and taking deep breaths as he hesitated. "I-I had a n-nightm-mare," he stuttered out. "Can I sleep with you?" Kendall nodded, not even bothering to ask why Carlos couldn't just sleep next to James in _own_ room.

"Sure buddy." Kendall scooted over a little in his bed, giving Carlos some space. Carlos hesitantly lay down next to Kendall. For some reason, Carlos had always felt safe with Kendall. Kendall was his hero, and in his innocent eyes, Kendall was perfect. He could help him through anything. Kendall was his leader, and he would protect him from anything.

Kendall sighed to himself. He knew that what had happened would change Carlos forever. Without asking Carlos what his nightmare was about, he patted Carlos's head.

Carlos buried his head into Kendall's shoulder, curling himself up into a ball. Kendall smiled and ruffled his friend's hair. "It's okay, buddy. You're okay." Kendall chanted on and on, until Carlos was finally asleep. Then, after casting a wary glance at Carlos, he quickly fell asleep, too.

_Line line line_

Kendall was annoyed when he woke up yet again. But this time, it wasn't Carlos who woke him up. Kendall quickly got up and started to walk towards the bathroom. Before he could leave his bed, though, Carlos quickly pulled on his leg.

"Don't leave, Kendall." He whimpered. Kendall's heart almost broke at the sound.

"Carlos, buddy, I'm not leaving. I'm just gonna go to the bathroom, okay?" Kendall told him as gently as he could.

After a few hesitant moments, Carlos nodded reluctantly. He didn't want Kendall to leave him, not even for a second, but he knew he had to face his fears some time. "Come back quickly, okay?" Carlos relaxed when Kendall nodded and smiled.

A few minutes passed by, and Carlos stared into the blackness, the nothing. He wondered what nothing actually looked like. If everything was black, like it was now, that was still _something_, right? Black was something… so what would nothing look like. Carlos tried to think about what nothing looked like, glad that he finally had thoughts other than bad guys and knives and blood and-

Carlos squealed when something touched him. "Kendall?" He whispered, fear freezing every body part on him. The person who touched him stared at him through the darkness. Carlos could see his brown eyes glinting in the darkness. He was about to relax, but then he remembered that Kendall's eyes weren't brown. They were green. Oh no.

"Pl-please! Don't hurt m-me! Kendall! H-help me!" Carlos cried loudly, feeling the grip on him tighten. The person was going to take him away. He was going to die! He was-

Suddenly he heard the person start speaking. "Hey, Carlos. Relax, buddy. It's just me. It's just Logan." Carlos looked up and saw those brown eyes again. Was it really Logan? _Could_it be Logan? Or was the person just tricking him. Carlos felt bright lights flash in his head when Kendall flicked on the light in panic.

"Carlos! What's wrong?" Kendall quickly looked around, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Logan was leaning towards Carlos, trying to calm him down. "What's wrong?" Kendall repeated.

Logan stared Kendall straight in the eye and had a guilty look on his face. "I think Carlos mistook me for the… for the criminal." He admitted quietly. Kendall sighed and sat down next to Carlos. The Latino boy was sobbing and wiping his eyes furiously.

"Carlos, hey. Look at me. It was just Logie, okay? Nothing to worry about." Carlos looked up, and calmed down when he saw Logan's concerned face and no one out of the ordinary in the room. He wiped his eyes one last time, and took a shaky breath.

"Kendall. I-I was so s-cared!" He whispered. Kendall rubbed his back comfortingly. What had happened to the old Carlos? The one who said he'd protect all of them from monsters and hit them with his helmet? Even though at the end, Carlos would just crawl into bed and cry at anything scary, Kendall and Logan still wished that the old Carlos was back.

"Carlos, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to scare you." Logan said in a small voice. Kendall gave him a encouraging smile, telling him that it wasn't his fault. Logan smiled back hesitantly.

"It's o-o-okay." Carlos said, trying to smile back. It turned out more like a wince. But they could tell that Carlos was feeling better now.

"Go back to sleep, alright?" Carlos nodded and the three settled into bed. Soon, they fell into a dreamless sleep. Little did they know that James had also heard everything going on. James felt bad, too, even though he knew that he wasn't even there. He wasn't even part of it, yet he still felt bad. After all, he _did_ cause it to happen, right? No matter what happened, the three boys could always track it back to themselves.

_Line line line_

The next morning, the boys woke up one by one. First, Logan woke up and greeted Mrs. Knight and Katie, who were already miraculously awake and eating pancakes. "Good morning, Mama Knight. Mornin' Katie." Logan said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

The responded with their mouths full of food. Kendall was the second to wake up. He walked into the room wearing his pajamas. Logan rolled his eyes. He always changed before he even got out of the room. It seemed weird to him to keep his pajamas on.

'Hey, mom. Hey, Baby Sister." Kendall yawned, and Katie rolled her eyes and punched him softly in the shoulder as he sat down beside Mrs. Knight.

When James woke up, he didn't say anything, and he didn't even bother to keep his hair clean. He just walked out with his hair in clumps. It wasn't like James at all.

"Dude, what's up with _you_ today?" Kendall said, chuckling. James licked his dry lips.

"I'm worried about him. I heard everything yesterday." James explained quickly. Katie and her mom shared worried glances with each other. They didn't even bother asking, because they knew the boys didn't want to talk about it.

"Don't worry about it, guys. It's over now." Everyone turned their gazes to Carlos, who was standing hesitantly at the bottom of the swirly slide, listening to everything his friends were saying. This was all his fault. He had caused his friends to worry over nothing. He had been such a baby yesterday, _and_ he had hurt all of his friends even when he didn't mean to.

"Please don't worry about it?" Carlos said softly, looking at the ground. The guys and Katie shared glances with each other, while Mrs. Knight focused on her food, not looking at any of her "children". She couldn't stand to see Carlos like this.

Katie blew air out of her mouth. "No problem, Carlos. If they worry about it, then I'll whack them with my hockey stick" She smiled when she saw Carlos giggle at that. The boys quickly nodded in agreement. Leave it up to Katie to threaten them and comfort them at the same time. Carlos must really be fine now that he was smiling and laughing like the old Carlos. Maybe last night he was just having a little "Carlos" moment.

"Thanks, Katie." Carlos said shyly, sitting down between Katie and Kendall. Kendall put his arm around his youngest friend, and Katie patted his knee. Carlos just looked down and started eating slower than it took for a turtle to run a marathon.

"It's my job, buddy." Katie replied. Carlos glanced at her quickly and nodded, returning to his breakfast. No matter what, food always meant a lot to Carlos. Carlos loved to eat, and that was never going to change.

_Line line line_

"Dude! That was _too_close!" The woman yelled at Jake Blanchard, smacking him in the back. Jake just smirked.

"I like the thrill of anticipation." He said, sweeping his hands around in a gesture. The woman rolled her eyes. Boys were so stupid. She knew that only _too_ well.

"Are we trying again tomorrow?" Jake nodded, a devious glint in his eyes.

"And this time, let's hope that kid doesn't ruin anything again." Jake said.

**A/N- Wow… that was angsty and it felt so… lame. I don't know why… but it was hard writing this chapter… hmm. Sorry for the lame chapter… but I promise the next one will be more interesting… something bad is seriously gonna happen…**

**Review? They're like my sunshine! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	17. Kidnapped

_**Chapter 17**_

After breakfast, everyone was going to be busy except for Carlos. Kendall was going to buy a new hockey stick, since James broke the other one looking for his Cuda products, and then go meet Jo at the pool for a date. James himself was out buying more of the product, even though he had loads of them already. Logan was going to take some strange doctor class that could give him a degree or something. Katie had school for the whole day, unlike the boys, who usually only had it half a day at Rocque Records. And finally, Mrs. Knight had to go out to the grocery, because everyone was eating all of the food in the place.

Carlos told them it was okay that they go do everything they were doing, but when everyone left, and Carlos heard the door slam on last time as Mrs. Knight left, he felt scared to death. Everyone was gone, and the apartment was empty. Someone could come any time. And Carlos wouldn't be able to do anything when they did. Carlos was a really big pushover when he was attacked by bullies or mean people or… kidnappers.

Carlos sat on the couch and sucked his thumb, wishing he were still a kid in his mommy's arms. He rocked himself back and forth, trying to think of something happy. He thought about kittens, and the cat he saw someone from 2K trying to hide. He smiled at the memory. It was a shame that Bitters didn't allow pets in the Palm Woods. Carlos loved animals, and he really wished that-

Carlos suddenly froze when he heard something cracking inside of a room. He heard someone yelp, and another person whisper loudly. She said "Be quiet!" or something like that. But Carlos already heard them. He whimpered softly, and started moving out of the apartment as fast as he could. Someone was here to kill him! He had to get out, he _had_to get out!

Carlos felt an icy chill down his spine when he felt someone's cold hand touch his shoulder. Oh no… being kidnapped had always been one of his worst nightmares. And now it was coming true. He was so scared he could feel himself shaking all over.

"Hey, Carlos. Long time no see, huh?" Carlos turned slowly and saw Guitar Dude's evil face staring down at him. Carlos gulped, resisting the urge to cry. He couldn't show these people his weaknesses, or they'd just do something even worse to him. Jake and Carlos just stared at each other for minutes on end, both for unknown reasons.

The most surprising thing was when Carlos heard another crash about 10 minutes later, and a woman stumbled out, cursing and brushing the dust off of her jeans. Carlos knew that woman so well, but he didn't really want to admit that she was using them this whole time...

"Got him?" She asked quietly. Guitar Dude, no, _Jake__Blanchard_ nodded, holding Carlos's hands behind him to tie them with rope. The rope scraped his skin, causing him to wince. This was horrible. This couldn't be happening.

"What did I tell you would happen if you told, little boy?" Jake sneered, lifting Carlos's chin up until Carlos thought his neck would break.

"Please don't…" Carlos whispered desperately. He didn't want Jake to punish him, hit him, hurt him, call him names, or anything harmful. But that wouldn't happen. Carlos knew that Jake would've got him no matter what, and he tried to convince himself that telling his friends _was_ a good idea. They were going to find him. He was sure of it. But what if Jake killed him before they did? Then… Carlos bit his lip, trying not to focus on that.

"_Poor__you._Maybe you won't feel so sad if I brought you to my house. It's far, far away from here." Jake said, smirking when he saw the frightened look Carlos was trying to hide.

"No! Please don't! I'll do anything for you! P-please!" Carlos shouted. Jake stuffed a handkerchief in his mouth, and quickly dragged Carlos into his bedroom. The woman, whose name Carlos didn't even want to say anymore, went out the window first, and slid to the ground by using a rope tied at the side of the building. Guitar Dude went down next, telling Carlos to get down with him. Carlos quickly picked up a pencil, and with a second of thought, scribbled the words "kidnapped" onto a sheet of paper on James's desk. He quickly followed Jake down to the ground, where the man was waiting for him. Honestly, he had no idea Jake trusted him to follow him down there. But Carlos knew he wouldn't disobey Jake. He was so _weak_and pathetic.

Carlos knew he could've run away. But he wouldn't have been able to open the door or talk, and then Guitar Dude, er, Jake, and the woman would've caught up to him and _killed_ him or something. He wouldn't even get past the door. Carlos didn't want any more trouble. But he was scared to death. He was so scared he couldn't even think right.

"Get in the car, retard." Carlos nodded quickly, not even protesting at being called a retard. He got in, put his seatbelt on, and stared down at the floor, blinking away the scared tears forming in his eyes.

He finally admitted to himself that this was actually happening. He was actually getting kidnapped by Jake. And the worst part was that Jake's accomplice was someone he had trusted for so long.

Jo Taylor.

_Line line line_

Kendall sat at one of the pool chairs, whistling a tune to himself. He looked around, looking for his girlfriend, Jo. She was supposed to come in a few more minutes, so Kendall told himself to relax and enjoy the moment. Everything was going perfectly fine this sunny day in LA.

Kendall was in a really good mood, and didn't even try to consider the fact that something would go wrong today. He was optimistic right now, and his hopes rose even more when he saw his blonde-haired girlfriend approaching him.

"Hey, Kendall, sorry I was late." Jo said sweetly.

Kendall laughed. "Actually, you weren't. I was just early." Jo smirked and punched Kendall lightly in the shoulder.

"So, how was your day?" Kendall asked conversationally. Jo looked like she was a little bit _too_ excited about something. She looked like she had just returned from doing something really fun. Kendall decided that he probably looked like that too, so he dropped it.

"Fine. Just stayed at home, watched my TV show." Jo replied, shrugging. Kendall knew that Jo was an amazing actor, and he loved watching her New Town High episodes just to see her beautiful face.

"I love you, you know that?" Kendall said flirtatiously. Jo smiled and they pulled in for a long, mushy kiss.

"Kendall, where are the boys right now?" Jo asked curiously.

"Well, James is shopping for Cuda products, you know him… and Logan's taking some medical class, and Carlos is just chilling at home. You know, I may have to get back to him in a few minutes. Sorry." Kendall told Jo. He could tell that she was disappointed, but Jo had to understand that Carlos meant half the world to him, right?

"Oh, it's alright, I know you really care about Carlos."

Kendall nodded. "I care about him more than you'll know." He saw a flash of anger and… jealousy in Jo's eyes. It was jealousy in her eyes, right? Kendall was never good at reading eyes.

"Well… can you get me a smoothie, Kendall? There's a guy selling them right over there." Jo smiled at Kendall, her eyes shining. Kendall nodded quickly. He was going to ditch her for Carlos soon, so why not make it up to her by buying her a smoothie?

When Kendall returned, he couldn't find Jo anywhere. He pulled out his phone, just as a new message reached his inbox. _Hey__K,__just__received__a__call__from__my__movie__director.__We__haf__2__shoot__another__scene__for__da__New__Town__High__movie__right__away.__Love__ya,__Jo._

Kendall shrugged. He was used to Jo ditching him for her job. Sometimes, it made him think that maybe he wasn't as loved to Jo as her job was. Sometimes, he felt like Jo cared about her job more than she cared about him. But on the other hand, Kendall always ditched Jo, too, when Gustavo called them to his studio. Same thing. Maybe Jo felt just like Kendall was feeling now. Betrayed and sad.

But Kendall didn't know how dangerously correct he was.

**A/N- Anyone understand that last sentence? I tried to make it clear… but I'm not a clear kid. Seriously. That sounds weird, doesn't it? And Jo, it's been her all along… what a shame. **

**And poor Carlos! He's KIDNAPPED! How horrible is that? What do you think will happen to the poor little guy?**

**Peace, Love, and Reviews,**

**Anonymous Skrtle :)**


	18. Realization

_**Chapter 18**_

"Carlos! I'm back!" Kendall called out into the empty apartment in front of him. He got no answer. "Carlos!" Nothing. Kendall chuckled, thinking that Carlos was probably asleep again. He decided not to worry about it, and turned on the TV to watch some hockey tournaments.

Kendall was screaming at the TV when he noticed that the apartment seemed a little _too_ quiet. Carlos should've woken up from Kendall's screaming already. You couldn't wake him up with a bulldozer, but you could with a tiny human whisper. It was an unusual talent, or you could say it was a misfortune, of Carlos's. Even if he wasn't awake yet, then Carlos had to at least be snoring.

Kendall cautiously walked into Carlos's room, opening the door slowly. What he _didn__'__t_see scared him more than anything. Carlos's bed was empty. Carlos was gone.

"Carlos…" Kendall whispered, his voice worried and terrified for his friend? What had happened to him? What if he was murdered? What if his dead body was right under the bed? What if this was all their fault for leaving Carlos here alone? What if-

"Okay, Kendall, _calm__down._" Kendall told himself in a shaky voice. He wasn't one to panic. But this was a serious situation. Carlos could be _anywhere_ right now. Why wouldn't Kendall panic? Kendall took some deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart.

He quickly took out his phone, smacking himself mentally for not thinking of calling Carlos before. "Please pick up, buddy, please pick up…" Kendall chanted to himself impatiently as the phone rang and rang and rang.

Just then, he heard Carlos's voice in the phone. Kendall's heart rose like a kite, but then it dropped back down when he realized that it was Carlos's voicemail.

"Hey, you've reached Carlos Garcia. Well, you didn't really_reach_ me, because I'm probably nowhere near you. But you reached me on the phone. Well- never mind, just call me back, okay?" Kendall always smiled when he heard Carlos's voice mail. It was like no other. But this time, he couldn't bring himself to do it. There was no other time that Carlos's voice brought him so much dread and fear.

Suddenly, a flash of gray on white caught Kendall's eye. He didn't know why he even bothered to go check it out, but he did. He saw Carlos's handwriting on a piece of James's homework, scribbly and messy. He would very soon find out why Carlos's handwriting was way more sloppier than usual.

_Kidnapped._ Kendall's body froze completely. Carlos was kidnapped. It couldn't be. Oh no, it just _couldn__'__t_ be. How could that happen? There were plenty of witnesses around to help Carlos. How could they have missed him?

Kendall's mind immediately thought of Guitar Dude. They hadn't called the police on them yet, because Logan kept on arguing that they didn't have enough proof yet, and the police could have turned the tables on _them_. So they didn't. But now, Kendall knew that Guitar Dude had done it. Jake. Kendall spat on the ground angrily.

He felt the wind blowing on his face. Wait, _wind?_ Then that meant that the window was open, right? Then that meant that-

"Oh no… no no no! Please no!" Kendall fell to his knees, his eyes filling and tears spilling over. He'd never been through something like this before. None of his loved ones had ever been kidnapped, or taken away. And it hurt the most not knowing what was happening to Carlos right at that moment. They had to save him, even if it would kill them. Kendall knew that _he_ would die trying. Carlos meant more to him than his own life.

Kendall had grown up loving his friends just as much as his family. He had stood up countless times when boys took things away from Katie and called her weak just because she was a girl. He punched some idiot in the face and earned himself three detentions after the bully had called James "gay". He'd stuck up for Logan when people forced him to do their homework, or when big guys bullied him. He'd even fought for his own mother when an old guy was beating her with his cane. Kendall loved his family and his friends more than people could imagine.

But now that he thought back, he realized that he'd stuck up for Carlos the most. Usually, James could fare well on his own, and Katie was really feisty when she wanted to be now that she was older. Logan just avoided people in general, and always made sure to stick by them when they went to places with people who would bully him. But Carlos was adventurous and innocent. He never knew what he was getting himself into until it was too late.

Kendall had helped Carlos when he got bullied for being dumb, when he was bullied for being a different race, when he was bullied for his size, when someone locked him inside his locker, and a bunch of other times. Carlos was like Kendall's own little brother. Sometimes, he wished he had a little brother like Logan or Carlos. Katie was awesome, but he wanted a brother sometimes. Someone who shared his interests as a boy. But he had James, Logan, and Carlos to make up for this lack of a brother.

But right now, Kendall didn't know what to do His little brother was lost and probably hurt, and he didn't know what to do. He heard James and Logan chatting with each other as they noisily came through the door. They were laughing about something, and Kendall's didn't want to break them with the recent news of Carlos. He stayed in his room, not responding when James and Logan called for him. It was ironic, really… the same thing had happened to Kendall when he called for Carlos. No one had answered him. The only difference was that Carlos was in trouble, and he wasn't.

"Kendall?" Kendall looked up from sobbing in Carlos's bed that he didn't even notice James and Logan come in. He hadn't even noticed that he was sobbing. "You okay?"

Kendall shook his head. "This c-can't be happening…" He whispered softly, begging himself to not cry anymore in front of his friends.

"What's wrong, Kendall?" James sat down on the bed and stared at Kendall with his hazel eyes. Kendall didn't want to tell him, but he knew he had to deliver the news soon. He was the only one who knew about it who was actually safe and sound. Other than Guitar Dude and whatever jerk could have been helping him. But they'd never admit to it.

"Carlos, he- I'm so sorry." Kendall said, shaking his head back and forth.

James looked down at him. "What are you sorry about?"

Kendall let out another quiet sob. "Look." He handed Logan and James the sheet of paper.

James gasped, and Logan's face turned sad. "What? Carlos got kidnapped?" James repeated disbelievingly. Carlos was being taken away from them right now. How could they let this happen? How were they stupid enough to leave Carlos alone at home?

"No…" Logan suddenly fell into James's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Kendall didn't blame him; after all, he'd reacted the same way, right?

"Hey, Logan, don't cry, alright?" James said soothingly, looking on the edge of tears himself. This only made Logan feel worse, because he knew it was bad when James _and_ Kendall crying about it. Carlos was gone, and possibly gone forever.

"But what if he's not coming back?" Logan asked quietly, his voice full of fear and doubt. James put his arm around Logan, sighing.

"We don't know, Logie. But we're calling the police." James picked up his cell phone and dialed 911 before Kendall or Logan could say anything.

"911, what is your emergency?" The dispatcher said at the other end of the line.

"It's my friend. He's been kidnapped." James explained quickly.

"Sir, how long has it been since you last saw him?"

James looked up at the ceiling and thought for a second. "Um, maybe 8 hours ago?"

The dispatcher sighed. "Sir, we cannot help you unless the victim has been missing for more than 48 hours. Please call again at that time."

"No! Wait! But he-" He heard a beeping sound, and he knew that the dispatcher had hung up., He slammed the phone down in his pocket, his fists clenching. The nerve of some people!

"Stupid 48 hour rule! Can't they help someone who's actually in danger without WAITING FOR TWO DAYS? WHO KNOWS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN THEN!" James exploded, facing the wall. He pulled back his fist, and felt hot pain searing through his hand. He'd punched the wall and made a noticeable dent in it

"Hey, James, calm down." Kendall said, placing a comforting hand on James's shoulder. James took some deep, shaky breaths, and made himself calm it for his friends' sakes.

"James, we're gonna find him, alright? Even if the police are stupid enough not to help." Kendall told him firmly. James surprisingly felt better hearing it coming out of Kendall's mouth.

"Yeah, we _have_ to. But we need everyone to cooperate, okay James?" Logan piped up, his eyes still red and puffy. James flashed a smile at his younger friend, telling him that he was grateful for his support.

"Alright, guys, I'll take your word on it." James held his fist out. Kendall placed his fist on top of James's. Logan put his on top of Kendall's. Usually, Carlos's had would be on top of Logan's, but they tried not to think about that at that moment.

"Let's do this." Kendall told them firmly. Then, they took their fists out of the pile, and started to exit the bedroom.

But Logan suddenly thought of something. "_How_ exactly to we do this?"

No one had an answer to that.

**A/N- So, how'd ya think? What dya think is gonna happen? I think next chapter might focus on Mr. Carlos Garcia a little more. And the reason why Jo would do such a stupid thing to such an innocent person. **

**Oh yeah, can you guys go on my poll and vote for the story I should start next? That would be great! Thanks! You guys rock!**

**Review? Please?**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes **


	19. Brothers

_**Chapter 19**_

"Okay, so we know _nothing_ about Guitar, I mean, uh, Jake." Kendall stated, his face falling. It was true. They knew that Guitar Dude probably had another home somewhere else, for he was not in his apartment when they barged in with hockey sticks. They didn't know who helped Jake, or anything else. How upsetting was _that_?

"Darn. We'll never find Carlos." James groaned softly, despair and a little bit of fear in his voice. Kendall and Logan felt the same way, too. They had to find Carlos, but they didn't even know where to start. Carlos could be _dying_ at that moment, and there was probably nothing they could do about it.

"We have to start _somewhere_," Logan pointed out, speaking all of their thoughts out loud. Kendall and James nodded hesitantly, tapping their chins and thinking. Where could they possibly start in this cruel world of endless possibilities?

_Line line line_

Carlos gritted his teeth in pain when he was thrown on to the hard ground. He didn't know if it was wood, cement, rock, or whatever. All he knew was that he was in Jake's "house", if it could even be called that. All it was was a little shack or something smack dab in a dark place.

Carlos was scared. He was outright terrified. He didn't know where he was, and he hurt all over. He didn't know what Jake had done to him, but it involved lots of hitting and punching and kicking. Carlos winced when he thought of the events that had occurred to him.

He had bruises all over his body, and he hurt _everywhere_. There was probably nothing on him that wasn't bruised up.

"You little rascal! This'll teach you to keep your stinky little mouth shut!" Jake shouted, kicking Carlos over and over again. Carlos tried to keep himself from crying out in pain, but he did anyways. It hurt so much.

"_Never_ tell them again! You hear me, wimp?" Jake sneered, spitting in Carlos's face. Carlos nodded vigorously, ashamed of himself for being so weak. He _was_ a wimp. He couldn't even stand up to this man, the man who used to be one of his friends.

"You little bastard!" Jake shouted, his face red with anger, sweat dripping off his face. Carlos felt a punch in the face as Jake hurled him up from the ground. He felt something burning on his face, and he touched it, drawing back his hand. It was covered in blood. Ow. Carlos winced just thinking about what his face must've looked like then. But Jake didn't seem to care.

He felt another punch to his stomach. Wow, Jake was really strong. Carlos crumpled to the ground, not able to take any more of this silent torment.

"Stop! Please!" Carlos begged with the least pathetic voice he could manage.

Jake chuckled. "Poor you. I'll be nice and let you stay here for awhile. But if you make _any_ wrong move, _any_, then you're dead. You hear me?" Carlos looked at the ground, staying silent.

Suddenly, he felt Jake's cold hand reach up around his neck. It closed around his neck and he could breath all of a sudden.

"Yes! I-I understand!" Carlos sputtered, trying to get air into his lungs. Jake let go of him, and Carlos was relieved when he walked out of the room, or whatever it was.

Carlos pulled his knees up to his chest, whimpering and wincing at the pain in his face. He wanted Kendall. He wanted James. He wanted Logan. He wanted to go back home.

"Kendall…" Carlos whimpered, tears cascading down his face. "James, Logie…" Carlos wanted his big brothers back. He didn't care _what_ he had to do, he just wanted to go back home. He really hoped that Kendall and James and Logan would come look for him.

Carlos sniffled, wiping the tears away from his wet face. He had to start looking for ways to escape. He spotted nothing except for black, black, and even more black. His eyes didn't even start to get used to all the darkness, so Carlos assumed that it was either nighttime, or the walls were painted black or something.

Black was Carlos's least favorite color. He loved yellow and all those bright colors. Sometimes, people made fun of him for liking the color pink. Carlos wore pink all the time, but he didn't really care. It made him feel bright and happy, so he didn't care what other people thought of it. His friends were okay with it, too, and Carlos didn't care about what anyone else thought.

Carlos's eyes filled with tears when he thought of James, Kendall, and Logan. They had always protected him, and he'd tried to protect them, too. The only one he could really protect was Logan, because Kendall and James wouldn't let him. But Logan was smart, and he didn't need so much protecting because he already avoided the problems in the first place.

Carlos knew he had the best brothers in the world. Of course he loved his biological brothers, but his hockey buds from Minnesota were probably his favorites. He knew that was mean and selfish of him, but it was true. His older brothers were always annoyed with him, and his younger ones always bothered him. But his friends in L.A. had given up their _everythings_ for each other.

He remembered the time when Kendall punched out that football player who was pushing Carlos around. He got suspended for two days, but he told Carlos that "You're worth the punishment, buddy." Carlos loved Kendall; he was his protector, his big brother, the one he always sided with. Kendall listened to him, laughed with him, helped him with his problems, and did almost everything with him. Kendall made sure that Carlos was never in trouble. Kendall was almost like a Superman to Carlos.

James was Carlos's buddy. They were both immature, and cared about strange things. Carlos loved kittens, rainbows, and his helmet. James cared about Cuda products, hair, and mirrors. They were both strange in their own ways, but when they were together, they became normal. Somehow, the weird cancelled out, and they were normal boys just fooling around. Carlos could clearly recalled the time where James broke up with the girl he had liked for _years_ just because the girl didn't like Carlos. James was loyal, fun, and Carlos loved him.

Logan. Logan was the smartest person Carlos had ever met. Logan knew so many things, Carlos was surprised that he wasn't Albert Einstein's son. Well, he _could_ have been his great great great great grandson, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Logan could always make him feel better. Logan could always make him laugh when he talked about all that nerd stuff. When Carlos couldn't understand his math, Logan stayed up with him all night to help him understand. He got in trouble the next day for falling asleep on his desk. Carlos felt bad about it, but Logan just smiled and shrugged it off. Logan was caring of others, and would do anything to help his friends. Carlos loved Logan, too.

Carlos was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a huge crash. He heard Jake curse, and assumed that he'd tripped or fallen. Carlos didn't like this. He _hated_ this with all his heart. He wanted to get out. He had to get out before he died in here. He never had the chance to tell James and Kendall and Logan how much he truly loved them. And maybe it was already too late.

_Line line line_

The three boys were still thinking deeply when they heard a horn honking outside the window. It was traffic hour in L.A, and horns were beeping everywhere.

"I got it!" Kendall cried suddenly, causing James and Logan to jump up in surprise.

"They've _got_ to have seen Guitar Dude's car, right?" Kendall stated bluntly. James and Logan still looked puzzled.

"Who?" Logan asked.

Kendall rolled his eyes. "The people at the Palm Woods! They _have_ to know what Guitar Dude's car looks like, right?" Kendall's eyes lit up while he was telling his friends his idea.

James and Logan glanced at each other, looking thoughtful. "Well… what if he had a different car? And he took Carlos in that one?" James inquired. Kendall kept himself from groaning. Why was it that his friends could always find loopholes in his plans?

"Well, can't we at least give it a _try_?" Kendall urged them.

James looked at Kendall with doubt. "Well, we could…" He didn't finish his sentence, because Kendall was already out the door.

"He reminds me of Carlos sometimes." Logan sighed, causing them both to chuckle. But inside, they were even more worried. What if Carlos never came back?

**A/N- So, who liked seeing Carlos being tortured? I know I did.. didn't….**

**And I AM SO SORRY FOR THE SLOW UPDATE! I'm kinda having a writer's block… **

**And I'm leaving to go on a CRUISE in two days! SO EXCITED! I'll be gone in 10 days… so I won't update till I come back! Sorry! But I'll TRY MY BEST to update the last chapter of Bitten tomorrow! **

**Review?**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	20. Jo

_**Chapter 20**_

"Kendall! Wait up!" James called out as he and Logan ran out of the bedroom to catch up to Kendall. They knew that this was breaking all of them. They were all changing. They all wanted so bad to find Carlos. And it had only been 2 hours since Carlos had disappeared.

Kendall stopped until James and Logan caught up, and then turned to them. "So… who do we ask first?" He prompted them.

Logan glanced up and saw Jo. "Well, Jo's here… so maybe we could ask her?" He suggested. Kendall smiled and nodded. He walked up to Jo slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. Which he didn't. James and Logan looked at each other. It was worth a try, wasn't it?

"Jo, I have some bad news…" Kendall started. Jo's smile faded, and all three boys wondered how the girl would react to Carlos's kidnapping.

"What's wrong? And where's Carlos?" Jo asked innocently. Kendall looked down and fiddled with the edge of his shirt. Kendall was _never_ nervous, so Jo knew that it was something horrible. Something horrible that _she_ had taken part in. But Kendall would never suspect her. Never.

"Carlos… someone kidnapped him." Kendall said quietly, blinking his eyes rapidly. Kendall didn't want to cry in front of his girlfriend and his best friends. He was their leader, and he had to keep strong.

"Oh my god…" Jo gasped, trying to look as scared and surprised as she could. Good thing she was a good actor, or Kendall, James, and Logan would have saw right through her. "Who could have done something like that?" She continued, fake tears coming into her eyes.

"Don't cry, Jo… we're pretty sure that it was Guitar Dude." Logan said hesitantly. He wasn't good with crying girls, it made him feel all tingly and weird.

"Guitar Dude? But… b-but he's a good person." Jo protested lamely. Inside, she was smiling. No one suspected her. They all suspected it was Guitar Dude. But what they didn't know was that it wasn't _only_ Guitar Dude they should have suspected.

"I know, honey. But I guess he was faking all this time." Kendall said sadly. Jo closed her eyes. Kendall had no idea.

"Can you help us? Find that jerk?" James asked her angrily. Jo opened her eyes. Everything was working out the way she and Jake planned it to. She appeared as the good guy, when she was actually one of the bad guys. This was pure movie genius.

"I'll try my best." Jo offered, sniffling. The three boys smiled gently at her.

"Thanks. For starters, do you know what color his car was?" Logan said, getting right to the point. It was funny. When he talked to girls in a normal circumstance, he was almost as horrible as Carlos with all that stuttering and stuff. But when it came down to the lives of his friends, he could tell them almost anything without stuttering.

"I…I'm not sure. I think it was red?" Jo guessed. She knew the color of Jake's car. Duh. It was black, as black as night. But she wouldn't tell them that. That would be too easy. Jo didn't want them to have Carlos back yet. They couldn't have him back until Kendall admitted that-

"Jo? You still there?" Jo was snapped out of her thoughts when Kendall waved a hand in front of her face.

"Yeah. Sorry. This is all so sudden, you know?" Kendall nodded sadly, wrapping his arms around her. Jo smiled on the inside. This was how it was supposed to be. Kendall wrapping his arms around _her_, and not around anyone else.

"I know, Jo. We'll continue this tomorrow if you want." James suggested. He didn't want to wait, but he knew that this was taking a lot out of Jo. And she may or may not know that much anyways. They could go ask someone else for now.

Jo nodded. "That would be nice. Thanks. I hope you find him soon." She said softly. Kendall pulled her in for a quick kiss before heading off with James and Logan, who were trying not to look but were looking anyways.

Jo smiled to herself when the boys were finally gone. This was perfect.

Jo would never hurt a sweet boy like Carlos. She was just going to take him and scare him a little. The only reason she helped Jake kidnap Carlos was because… she was jealous. She was jealous of Kendall's three friends. He always seemed to pay more attention to them than to her. She couldn't even count the times Kendall had to cancel a date because James lost his Cuda products, or when Logan was having trouble with fixing a microwave, or when Carlos couldn't do his homework. It was annoying, and it really hurt. Kendall obviously loved his friends more than he loved her. It was so obvious.

So that was why Jo decided to take Carlos. One, Carlos was the easiest to get. James was stronger than her dad, who worked in the CIA, and Logan was smarter than him, too. But Carlos was innocent and gullible. He couldn't fight them, and he wasn't smart enough to do anything useful for himself. Two, Carlos was the youngest. Kendall felt more protective of him more than anyone else. Taking him would hurt all of them. And maybe Kendall would move on once he found out what Carlos was about to do. After Jo made Carlos do this one thing, Kendall would hate his little brother forever. And then he would spend more time with her.

Jo whistled to herself as she walked towards a taxi. She quickly told him the address she was heading to, and in 10 minutes, she stood in front of Jake's house. She opened the unlocked door without even knocking, and Jake greeted her in the kitchen.

"Done?" Jake asked immediately. Jo nodded, smirking.

"They believe I'm as innocent as ever." She said snidely.

"The boy's downstairs. If you wanna talk to him, go ahead." Jake said indifferently, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Jo smiled and opened the door leading to the dark. She walked down slowly, wishing there were actually real steps. Jo was walking down a rocky hill, towards a swamp hidden underneath the house. She had no idea how it had gotten there, but it was great. No one would ever think of a _swamp_ underneath a _house_, would they?

"Who's there?" Jo heard a small voice ask. Jo rolled her eyes and walked towards the voice, finally seeing Carlos huddled in a corner.

"It's me, Carlos. It's Jo."

Carlos stared up at her with wide eyes. "When Kendall finds out, he's gonna hate you." He said angrily. "You're evil."

"Shut up! Don't you dare talk to me like that, okay? I can kill you in one flick of this gun, honey." She said in a sickingly evil voice, pulling out the gun hidden deep inside her pants. Carlos looked down, fiddling with his shoe laces, which were now covered in mud and water.

"You know what? I think I might actually do it today." Jo smirked, pulling out the gun again and pointing it at him. She loved that scared look on Carlos's face. Oh, if only he knew that the gun wasn't even loaded. But Carlos wasn't smart enough to think of that.

"No!" Carlos shouted before Jo could do or say anything else.

"I won't, if you do something for me."

Carlos licked his dry lips, his heart pounding with fear. Jo was gonna kill him. Jo was gonna kill him. "Anything!"

"I want you to tell Kendall that you hate him. Tell him that you were only using him to get famous, and that you were planning to kill Katie."

Carlos looked at her as if she had four heads. "Are you crazy? I-I can't do that!" Carlos protested. This was the hardest decision of his life. Either he died, or he lived and Kendall hated him forever and ever. He couldn't decide.

Jo sighed. "I'm giving you 30 seconds to decide. If you don't tell me by then, you're dead." Jo threatened. She wouldn't actually kill Carlos, but why would she tell him that?

Carlos looked around the room for any ways of escape. He couldn't find any that wasn't blocked by Jo. He was scared. He tried to act brave and tough, but he was as pathetic as anything could get. He was scared out of his mind. He didn't want to hurt Kendall, but he didn't want to die, either. He didn't know what to do.

"20 seconds." Jo said.

Carlos bit his lip hard. Maybe Kendall would forgive him if he told him the whole story? But Carlos knew Kendall would probably believe trustworthy Jo more than he'd believe stupid Carlos. But it was worth a try, wasn't it? But what if Kendall did something horrible before Carlos could escape and tell him the painful truth?

"10 seconds…" Jo sneered. The decision was obvious enough. Why wouldn't Carlos just choose already?

Carlos's breathing started to get shorter and panicky. He didn't know what to do.

"5, 4, 3, 2-"

"I'LL DO IT!" Carlos screamed. He wiped the sweat on his forehead. He didn't want to die. He was a coward, and he didn't want to die for anything or anyone. He was so selfish. So stupid.

"Good boy." Jo put the gun away and walked back up the stairs, leaving Carlos all alone.

Carlos brought his knees up to his chest, and whimpered, "I'm sorry, Kendall."

**A/N- I'm back! Who missed me? I hope some of you did… or I'll just go in that corner and cry. It hasn't even snowed where I am… even though it's supposed to be snowing tons where I live! Aaah! Global warming! I hate it! It's killing polar bears AND snow!**

**Thanks for the patience… I was gone having a blast while you guys sit here and slump. ;)**

**Peace, Love, and Winter,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	21. Helpless

_**Chapter 21**_

Kendall, James, and Logan walked around the Palm Woods and asked people about Jake. None of them said they knew anything about his car. He'd never told anyone he even had a car. Jake was one mysterious guy. The perfect character trait for a murderer. The only clue they'd gotten was from Jo, and they couldn't really prove that, since even Jo herself wasn't sure.

"Well, _that_ didn't work." James muttered angrily, throwing a pillow across the room in his frustration. They had no lead on Carlos's whereabouts, and it had almost been a whole day already. Before they knew it, they wouldn't ever see Carlos again. It was an obvious fact that none of them wanted to admit to themselves.

"We can't give up yet, guys." Kendall said, standing up. He was losing hope little by little, but they had learned from Carlos to be optimistic. It wasn't easy for them, but Kendall was doing his best to believe that they could still find Carlos and arrest Jake.

"There's nothing else we can do!" Logan shouted, putting his face into his hands. He blinked back the tears in his eyes, refusing to cry anymore. He was so angry that Kendall still thought they could do something. They had failed Carlos, and there was nothing else they could do to erase their mistakes. Logan knew he was being pessimistic, but he couldn't help it.

"Will you stop discouraging us? We believe Carlos is still alive, so just let us! Stop trying to make us depressed! I'm sick and tired of you being so pessimistic!" James suddenly shouted, standing up to shove Logan. Logan dodged it, and shoved James instead. Logan was small but strong, so James stumbled back a few steps. The pretty boy got his balance back and shoved Logan. Logan fell to the ground, wincing when he hit the floor with a thump.

"Well, I'm sick of you always being so _optimistic!_" Logan retorted, picking himself up from the ground.

Kendall stepped in between both of them. "Stop! Look at what this is doing to us!" The blonde shouted. "Will this help us find Carlos? No! So stop fighting like little sissies! Carlos needs us, and we are _not_ failing him again!"

James and Logan looked down, refusing to meet each other's glances. Kendall was right as always. They had to stop fighting about their own troubles when Carlos really had the biggest one right now. Logan bit his lip. If they still thought Carlos was alive, then so would he. Maybe he was still alive. Maybe Logan was just overreacting.

James nodded after a long period of silence. "Sorry," he whispered softly, his gaze flickering to stare into Kendall's green eyes.

Kendall nodded back at him, and wrapped his arm around Logan. "Now let's go see if we can find something else." He told both of them. James nodded, and Logan sniffled. Kendall took that as a "yes", so he stalked out of the room and prayed that his friends would follow him.

They did.

_Line line line line_

Carlos's body tensed when he heard the door opening. He froze, wondering who it could be. He really hoped it would be Jo, because she seemed way nicer than Jake, even though she _did_ threaten to kill him. _Please be Jo…_

It turned out that he was half right. Both Jo_ and _Jake stood in front of him seconds later. Carlos didn't know it he should feel relieved or scared. He felt both.

"Hey, Carlos. Did you have a good nap?" Jake sneered, making himself chuckle. The truth was, Carlos didn't really get any sleep the night before. He felt too scared that if he closed his eyes and gave himself up to the dark, someone would come and stab him to death or something. And how could he sleep when he was held captive in a _swamp_ by two of his former best friends?

When Jake found that Carlos wasn't going to reply, he sighed. "Alright then, if you're gonna be like that, why don't I just step aside and let Jo say what she wants to say." Jake left to do whatever he did.

Jo bent down until she was where Carlos was. "Ready? I have the recording device right here in my hand." She said, her voice cold as ice. Carlos gulped. He couldn't do this. But he didn't want to die, either. He didn't want to do this, but it was the only thing he could do right now. After all, his friends wanted him alive, right? He hoped so. He also hoped that Kendall would forgive him after this. If he didn't, Carlos didn't know _what_ he'd do next.

"I guess you're ready, then, since you don't seem to be cooperating with anyone today." Jo said indifferently.

Carlos looked down, ashamed of himself for being so weak. His head snapped up when Jo started speaking again.

"Alright. You can read your lines off of this little sheet of paper. Say it with emotion, or Jake's gonna whip ya. Okay?" Carlos's eyes widened when he saw Jake return with a belt in his hands. Jake smiled and waved at Carlos like he was his best friend.

"Start whenever you're ready." Jo said, like this was an audition or something. Carlos read it over, and his heart almost broke. Kendal would _hate_ him after he said this stuff out loud. The sheet read: _Hey, Kendall. This is Carlos Garcia. I just wanted to say something. I hate you. I hate how you always get the attention. I hate you so much. I was never your friend in the first place. I just went along with you because I wanted to get famous, too. I never cared for you or your family. In fact, I'm planning to murder your little sister, Katie. She's just a burden to anyone, anyways. I didn't want to tell you this, but I think it's time you should know. If you find this tape, congratulations to you. Bye, Kendall, I hate you!_

"I… I can't do this." Carlos stuttered, rubbing his hands together. He couldn't say any of this.

"There's always that other option with the gun," Jo reminded him softly, grinning. Carlos bit his lip hard. He just had to say those words, and then he was safe. They may even let him go. And then he could get back to his friends and tell Kendall the whole story.

Carlos took a deep breath and started reciting the sheet of paper that would soon ruin his life.

His voice cracked when he got to the part about not caring about Kendall or his family. That was a total lie, and Carlos couldn't bear to say it out loud. Jo paused the tape and gestured to Jake. Jake nodded and whipped Carlos without any warning. Carlos felt a blast of pain. He barely kept from crying out in pain.

"Keep going." Jo said firmly. And Carlos did. When he was finally finished, he'd suffered about 10 whippings. His back hurt all over the place. He was done. He was finally done.

"Good boy, Carlos." Jo said, smirking. Carlos whimpered and closed his eyes. He knew this would hurt Kendall. Kendall was strong, but those words would hurt anyone, even the strongest man on the earth. He already regretted doing this, but he couldn't take them back now. Jo had everything recorded, and there was no going back.

"Kendall's gonna be so mad at you after he hears this, Carlos. And finally, he's gonna ditch you. For me." Jo laughed, and Carlos cringed at the sound. So this was Jo's plan all along. To get Kendall to hate Carlos, just so he could ditch him and hang with Jo more? Carlos hated Jo now. He hated Jo so much.

"H-he's not gonna believe y-you." Carlos protested, trying to find some loophole in Jo's plan. Jo laughed like Carlos was crazy.

"They don't care about you_ that_ much. Kendall's gonna believe me. You know what? Maybe I should go right now." Jo stood up and left, leaving a scared and confused Carlos behind. How as Jo gonna fake it?

"I'm so sorry, Kendall…" Carlos cried, finally letting his tears cascade down his face. He couldn't bear to see Kendall's face after he heard all those horrible things Carlos said about him.

Kendall wouldn't forgive him. Carlos had been a coward, and now he was paying the price. But he couldn't help thinking that the price was way too high. Maybe he should've died instead. After all, no one would care about him anyways after they found out what Carlos had done.

Carlos didn't know what to do anymore. He couldn't really plan anything right now, because he couldn't escape from Jake's evil house. He couldn't just go with the flow, either, or he'd end up dead or hated.

Or both.

**A/N- Okay, I really didn't get the ending…. Sorry about that. But now what? Whaddya think is gonna happen? ;) **

**And I'm thinking of starting a new story soon… the poll is going great, and soon I'll show the results. Or not. ;) Thanks for all the support, guys! I love you all! See ya next chapter! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	22. Kendall

_**Chapter 22**_

Kendall stood up from the couch when he heard someone knocking on the door. The three of them had just gone around Palm Woods _again_, looking for someone, _anyone,_ who knew anything about Carlos and Jake. But they were shot down each and every time. Kendall was mourning over the loss of Carlos, not knowing what else he could do to help his youngest friend. He just had to wait until it had been 2 days to call the cops. But he couldn't help but worry that Carlos would be dead by then. He _had_ to do something. He just didn't know _what_ that something was.

Kendall was surprised and glad when he saw Jo smiling at him outside the door. He grinned back, glad that his girlfriend would be able to help him through his troubles. He invited Jo into his apartment, and they chatted for awhile. Both were trying to avoid the topic of Carlos for two completely different reasons. No one bothered them, because Logan was currently doing research about kidnapping cases, and James was somewhere near Logan assisting him in whatever he needed assistance with.

"So… I'm really worried about Carlos, Jo." Kendall started, looking down at his lap. He was never one to be shy, but Jo was someone that he tried his hardest to be strong in front of. But all Jo probably saw now was a weak idiot who no longer was a good leader.

"Oh, I'm so sorry… I've been no help to you at all, huh?" Jo looked down. Kendall saw the guilty look in Jo's eyes.

He lifted her chin up until she stared into Kendall's green eyes. "Hey. Don't blame yourself, Jo. You can help me look for clues in the apartment. You'll be a great help." Jo smiled back weakly, and stood up with Kendall. They started searching the apartment for anything that could help the police or themselves find Carlos and arrest Jake.

There was nothing. Kendall couldn't help realizing that Jake was a clever man. He acted to calm and dumb all the time, but he was just hiding under that mask of cruelty. Whoever assisted Jake was also very smart and clever, too, for neither Jo nor he could finally _anything_ to help them.

Kendall stared up at the ceiling, blinking back his tears. Kendall never cried in front of his friends. That rarely happened, and he was always ashamed of himself afterwards. He was the leader, and he had to protect and stay strong for all of them. There was nothing else to it. He definitely didn't want Jo to see him crying. That would be bad.

"Carlos, where are you, buddy?" Kendall whispered to himself, hoping no one could hear him, which was unlikely anyways. Jo was in a different room searching for clues, and James and Logan were hopefully still on the computer typing away. "I miss you. So much." Kendall would never admit to anyone that he was clueless as to what he should do right now. He was giving up on Carlos, because he just couldn't take the pressure anymore. He couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want people to look up to him, expecting him to know what to do in _every_ situation. He was sick of it, and he couldn't keep it up any longer.

"I can't do this anymore." Kendall sobbed silently, tears falling down his face. He didn't care at that moment _who_ saw him, he just wanted to pressure and the frustration to end. He didn't want this anymore. What had he done to deserve _any _of this?

"Kendall?" Kendall's head snapped up when he heard someone's voice. James. James was the one person he sometimes let himself cry in front of. He was his big brother, his partner. He was the one who helped Kendall stay strong. James was strong. He was probably stronger than Kendall in a bunch of ways. Kendall looked up to him, even though he knew James also looked up to him. It didn't make sense, but that was just how it was.

"You okay, Kendall?" James asked quietly. He knew that when Kendall cried, the situation was almost unsolvable. Kendall _never_ cried, and this was kind of freaking him out.

"No! We can't f-find C-Carlos, and I'm s-so s-s-scared, James! Wh-what if he's gone f-forever?" Kendall sobbed into James's shoulder. James rubbed Kendall's back with a shocked expression. Kendall seemed so optimistic from the beginning, and now he was giving up? James knew that Kendall had been hiding his fear from them, and he didn't want him to do that anymore.

"Hey, Carlos is gonna be alright, okay? We're gonna find him." James said gently. Kendall's sobs faded in a matter of seconds, and in a minute, he was sniffling and blowing his nose with a tissue. His face burned from embarrassment. He was their leader. He wasn't supposed to cry.

"I'm sorry." Kendall whispered, looking down at his feet.

James's eyebrows furrowed. "For what?"

"Crying."

James sighed. "Kendall, stop trying to be strong in front of us. We're all scared, and we don't expect you to be perfect. No one is, Kendall. It's healthier and better for us if you just let your emotions out, buddy." James chided him gently. Kendall nodded, not saying anything. Maybe James was right. Maybe he didn't have to try to be so strong all the time.

"Thanks, James." Kendall said. James smiled back. The two stared at each other for a long time. The peaceful silence was broken when Jo came stumbling into the room, crying and holding something black. Kendall's heart sank. Oh no. What if that was…

"I found something, Kendall! It's a tape!" Jo sobbed. Kendall sighed in relief. What could be so bad about a tape anyways? He'd thought it was a gun or something…

"Did you listen to it?" James asked curiously. Logan was now drawn into the room after hearing all the racket.

"Yeah… I think Carlos made it and never s-showed it to y-you guys." Jo admitted, handing her boyfriend the tape. Kendall stared at it. It was just a regular tape. There was nothing special about it. It was just a tape.

"It… it was h-horrible, Kendall. I don't think y-you should have it." Jo suggested, tears running down her face. Kendall's eyes softened. The tape must really have something horrible in it. But he was determined to hear it. He had to know what Carlos had to say. Maybe it was something important. Maybe it was something that would help them.

"It's alright, you did a good job finding this, Jo. Don't cry, it'll be okay," Kendall told her gently. Jo sniffled and nodded. Kendall dug out an old tape listener in his mom's closet, finally thankful that Mrs. Knight was so old-styled. He stuck the tape in, taking a deep breath before pressing play.

"Hey Kendall. This is Carlos Garcia." Kendall almost smiled when he heard Carlos's sweet voice. But his soon to be smile faded when he heard the next few sentences.

"I just wanted to say something. I hate you." Kendall's heart froze into a cold ice cube when he heard those words. Carlos had always said he loved Kendall with all his heart, and Kendall believed him. But now Carlos was telling him that he _hated_ him?

Kendall tried to keep his tears at bay after hearing a few more sentences. How could Carlos say this stuff? Had he really just used him all along to get what he wanted? Had Kendall meant nothing to him all those times he woke up with a nightmare or got his heart broken by a girl?

"In fact, I'm planning to murder your little sister, Katie." Kendall's wet eyes widened. No. No no no. It couldn't be. Someone who he'd considered one of his best friends had been trying to _murder _his little sister all along? Kendall furiously wiped his tears away. Now wasn't the time to feel sorry for himself.

"Bye, Kendall, I hate you!" The tape ended, and everyone was silent and speechless. Kendall's took shaky breaths. He no longer felt sad or hurt, even though he knew the feelings would return soon, but he felt angry. Everyone knew that Kendall had some anger problems. Right now, Kendall didn't think he had ever been as mad as he was at that moment.

All he had done was be an amazing big brother to Carlos, and this was how he repaid him? Unbelievable. If Carlos hated him, then so be it. Kendall hated him right back. If he wanted to just go solo, then Kendall would let him.

And worst of all, if Carlos got hurt anymore, Kendall would let him. Let Carlos suffer for what he'd done. He was done searching for him anyways. Carlos could just grow old and die there. It made no difference to Kendall. He was a coward, and Kendall didn't care about him anymore. Carlos should've just went out and told him right on. But did he? No, he was hiding in the corner, _pretending_ that he cared for anything that had happened the past year and a half.

"Kendall? You fine?" James asked hesitantly. Kendall grinned back at them, making James and Logan shiver. Why was Kendall…_ smiling?_

"I'm done. If Carlos is gonna be a jerk, I'm not looking for him anymore. He's not my friend any longer," he said firmly. None of the boys noticed Jo's satisfied smirk. This was going perfectly. Kendall hated Carlos, and now their friendship would break apart. And, sooner or later, the band was going to break up, and then it would just be Kendall and her. Alone. Forever.

**A/N- So, how much dya hate Jo right now? From 1-10? Probably 23, but… yeah. She just wants her boyfriend, which is the stupidest excuse ever, though.**

**And guess what? I'm starting a new story! It's Carlos angst, cuz ya'll know how much I love Carlos angst! ;) It's gonna be about him feeling… well, worthless. It's gonna be sad, lemma tell ya that. **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	23. Tricked

_**Chapter 23**_

Carlos pulled his knees up to his chest and shivered. It was getting really cold down wherever he was, and he was starting to feel dizzy from the lack of food, water, and sunshine. When could he leave this horrible place? He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to go home. He wanted James or Kendall or Logan. He especially wanted to see Kendall and see how he'd react to Carlos's tape thing. Carlos didn't want Kendall to hate him. That was one of the only reasons why he _didn't_ want to go home.

Just then, Jake and Jo practically broke down the basement door in their celebration. They were upstairs having a blast, celebrating that they had Carlos kidnapped and that they had gotten Kendall to hate Carlos. Jo stumbled down the stairs and turned on the lights. Carlos's eyes burned when the light entered his eyes, and he had to close his brown irises up until he got used to all the brightness and lights.

"Hey, Carlos. Guess what? Our plan worked!" Jo said in a sickingly gentle voice. Carlos drew away from her cold hand, reaching over to touch his chin. Jo watched him with an amused expression on his face.

"Well, he's not gonna hate me. Kendall's my best friend, and he wouldn't give up on me," Carlos told the girl confidently, almost one hundred percent sure of it himself.

Jo laughed. "Oh Carlos, you're so adorable and so gullible. Kendall already gave up on you," Jo stated indifferently, a wicked smile on her face. Carlos froze. Did Jo just say what he thought she said?

"Wh-what do you m-mean?" Carlos whispered, not meeting Jo's brown eyes.

Jo chuckled. "He told me and Logan and James that he wasn't your friend anymore, and he was giving up searching for you. And if you don't believe me, why don't we try this. If you're good for me, then I'll let you go."

Carlos's eyes widened. "Y-you will?" He asked, completely forgetting about the whole Kendall matter for a few seconds.

"Of course. But you'll find that you'd rather be here. Kendall hates you now, and being released will just prove it to you even more," Jo explained, loving her plan. She had no use for Carlos anymore; her goal was already achieved. Kendall hated Carlos, and loved her more. There was nothing else she wanted more. For all she knew, Carlos could leave and live in New York for all she cared. Oh wait, _she didn't._

"Y-you're lying." Carlos argued, not wanting to believe Jo's words.

"Well, if you're so sure about yourself, then you can go._ Now._ Jake's probably not gonna care, either. Go. No one needs you anymore, Carlos."

Carlos stood up, ignoring the numb feeling in his legs and his butt. He cautiously walked up the stairs, his stomach grumbling in hunger. He kept his gaze on Jo the whole time, in case she pulled out a gun or something and started shooting. She didn't. Carlos made it all the way up the stairs without any problems. Jo followed soon after.

When Jo was next to Carlos again upstairs, she started talking again. Carlos's eyes practically lit up when he saw the beautiful sunshine outside. He hadn't seen it for such a long time, and he was feeling like his brown eyes were transforming into gray.

"If you tell _anyone _about this, Carlos, you'll be in some huge trouble. Got it?" Jo sneered, pushing Carlos towards the door. Carlos glanced down at his dirty shoes, nodding. He didn't want anymore trouble. If he said no, then Jo would just keep him here longer.

"Bye. Get lost." Jo said matter of factly. Carlos scurried out of there, not even glancing back. He could feel his whole body refreshed when the outside air hit him like a beautiful wave. He breathed huge gulps of it in. Even though it was strange to admit, Carlos thought that the air tasted delicious. He'd never tasted something better.

He glanced around at his surroundings, and found that he didn't really know where he was. He started walking towards a busy looking street with a bunch of people talking and walking on it. He saw a taxi, and waved it over.

"Palm Woods?" Carlos asked meekly. The driver nodded, and Carlos got in. When he arrived, he remembered that he had no money. The taxi driver was going to kidnap him too, wasn't he?

"That will be, um… 11 dollars," the driver told Carlos. Carlos gulped and sighed.

"Umm, I'm kinda broke, so I don't really have the money…" He said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. He stared up at the driver with his huge brown eyes, making them look as sad as he possibly could, which was pretty easy considering how sad he _did_ feel at that moment. The driver seemed to soften and smiled.

"Oh, no problem, man. Just try and pay me back if you see me again?" Carlos nodded and waved goodbye to the driver as he drove away. He tried not to be bossy and use his eyes a lot, but desperate times called for desperate measures, right? Carlos had never know what that meant until today. He trotted into the Palm Woods, pulling his hood over his head so no one would know who he was. He walked into the lobby, where Bitters glanced at him suspiciously, but didn't say anything. He got onto the elevator and shakily pressed the number 2.

When the elevator door finally opened, Carlos stepped out hesitantly and stood in front of Apartment 2J. He didn't what to do now. He couldn't even believe that he'd gotten this far. He couldn't even believe he was actually _here._ Home.

What if they didn't let him in? What if they hated him forever? What if-

But before Carlos could process another thought, his hand somehow reached in front of him and knocked loudly on the door. Carlos pulled his hand back, smacking it. He was scared. He didn't know what would happen now, and he didn't really _want_ to know, either.

He took his hood off when Logan opened the door casually. For a few seconds, both of them just stared and stared at each other, not knowing what to say. Then, finally, Logan broke the agonizing silence.

"You're b-back… h-how?" He asked incredulously, not believing his eyes.

"I-it's a long story," Carlos mumbled, cautiously stepping in. Logan was being pretty nice. Maybe the others weren't mad at him, either.

The next thing he knew, Carlos was pulled in to a giant hug by Logan, who was almost crying in joy. He didn't even think Carlos would return at all. He never thought the day would come. Everyone had thought he was dead already.

"You're back, buddy, you're finally back…" Logan laughed into Carlos's shirt just as James walked into the room. He dropped his mirror and comb when he saw Carlos. He paced towards the Latino, joining Logan in the group hug.

"Carlos! You're back! I… I can't believe this!" James got out, looking shocked and surprised and overjoyed all at the same time. Carlos grinned back at them, already glad to be back. All his worries about them hating him were gone. Until Kendall came strolling through.

His eyes widened when he saw his lost friend, but Carlos couldn't tell if Kendall liked that he was back or hated it.

"Kendall?"

Kendall narrowed his eyes into a glare, and that was all it took for Carlos to realize that nothing was going to be the same anymore. James and Logan may not have despised him, but Kendall did. And there was no going back.

Kendall kept on glaring at Carlos, his green eyes turning a shade darker. Surprisingly, Carlos didn't feel that happy anymore to be back. Jo was right; he _did_ wish he was still being held hostage by Jake and Jo. He didn't want to go back home and find that one of his best friends didn't consider him to be their best friend anymore. It was one of the most painful things Carlos had ever experienced before.

Kendall turned his head and walked back into his room, closing the door softly. James and Logan sighed, glancing at Carlos sympathetically. Carlos bit his lip.

"Kendall hates me, doesn't he?" Carlos got right to the point, staring James straight in the eyes. James nodded shamefully.

"Right after he heard that tape… he hated you, Carlos," Logan admitted, looking down.

"And I have to admit, _I'm_ still a little pissed at you. I mean, you were planning to _kill_ Katie?" James said, his voice rising to a yell. Carlos could tell they were both _really_ pissed at him still, and that hurt him. A lot.

It wasn't mostly the fact that they hated him that hurt, but it was the fact that they had fallen into Jo Taylor's stupid little trap.

**A/N- Oh gosh… whaddya think? And don't blame this, they don't know the whole story yet… and I am SO sorry for the slow update… I was on writer's block for a few days, and yeah… I'm really sorry…**

**Well, review? Please? I'd really appreciate it… and if ya have some ideas, tell me in a review, and maybe I'll use it! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	24. One Down

_**Chapter 24**_

"I didn't plan to _kill_ Katie!" Carlos protested for the hundredth time that day. James and Logan shared a glance at each other, Katie watched Carlos with fear and anger in her eyes, Mrs. Knight glared at Carlos, and Kendall rolled his eyes and looked away.

Carlos could tell he wasn't really getting through to them, and he didn't know why. Why didn't any of them believe him? He hated lying, so why would he do it now? But Carlos didn't blame them; the tape sounded really convincing, and no one would ever suspect Jo, anyways. Carlos had decided to keep the Jo part to himself. He didn't want to hurt Kendall _again_ by telling him that his girlfriend had been betraying him all this time.

James didn't know what to think. The Carlos he knew would _never_ even swat a fly. How in the world could he actually kill someone? But James didn't know if the Carlos he knew was the real one or not. What if Carlos was faking all along? James had heard Carlos say it word for word on the tape, so what if Carlos _was_ a murderer? It was almost impossible to think of him like that, but who knew these days? What if his innocent attitude and his adorableness was all an act?

Logan licked his lips thoughtfully. He believed Carlos about the murdering part. Carlos wouldn't kill one of his best friends' sisters. Carlos and Katie were always really close; probably because of their similar maturity levels, so why would Carlos ever hurt Katie? But Logan didn't understand why Carlos would say that he hated Kendall. Kendall was always like a big brother to Carlos, so Logan knew that there had to be a reason behind Carlos's sudden hatred.

Katie was all out scared of Carlos. She was one of his closest friends, too. They had stolen fruit snacks, met fortune tellers, and separated the Jennifers together. How could Carlos ever betray her like this? Katie didn't know what to think or do, and for once, she was vulnerable and now able to protect herself.

Mrs. Knight was worried and confused about Carlos. She could tell Carlos was telling the truth about her daughter, but why would he even say it in the first place? Was this all a prank that went a little too far? If it was, Mrs. Knight was very disappointed and a little angry at Carlos. This was a horrible thing to do, but Mrs. Knight knew Carlos would never have the heart to do something like that. Would he?

Kendall was angry. He felt even madder than when he'd heard Carlos's voice for the first time in the tape. How could Carlos do this? How could they even be sure that he'd actually gotten kidnapped? What if he just ditched them for a few days to do something of his, and then returned a few days later? Kendall hated Carlos at that moment. How dare he threaten him and his sister like that? How could Carlos do this to them? What a pathetic little jerk.

There were so many different emotions in everyone's eyes when Carlos glanced at them. Betrayal, disappointment, anger, fear, confusion, worry… Carlos couldn't take it anymore. He turned away from his "family" and ran into his room. His tears flowed down his face silently, and his sobs were somehow silent, too. Why didn't they believe him? What made them think that he would _ever_ do something horrible like that?

Why why why? That was all Carlos could ask to himself as he lay on his comfy bed, crying and crying until he heard someone open up the door. He didn't care who it was at that moment; he just kept on crying and sobbing.

"Carlos?" Carlos glanced up and saw a figure standing in the doorway. His tears blurred his vision, but he could see that it wasn't Katie or Mrs. Knight. It probably wasn't Kendall, either, because Kendall obviously wanted to murder Carlos at that moment.

"It's Logan, buddy. Let's talk, ok?" Carlos sat up hesitantly and wiped his brown eyes. Logan sat down next to Carlos and sighed sadly. Everything was so screwed up right now, and it worried Logan immensely. How could everything just go downhill so quickly?

"What is there t-to talk about?" Carlos asked quietly, looking down at his feet.

"Carlos, I-I believe you. You couldn't have threatened to do that. You're not that kind of person. But I know there's something behind all this." Logan explained, telling Carlos what he had been thinking the past few minutes. Carlos looked up at him hopefully. If Logan believed him, then maybe he wasn't alone in this.

"Yeah, there is," Carlos admitted. Logan raised his eyebrows, silently urging Carlos to go on.

"It… someone made me do it." Carlos said so quietly that Logan wasn't sure if he'd heard right. Someone _forced_ Carlos to do this? What kind of sick person would do that?

"Carlos, why didn't you tell us?"

Carlos shook his head. "Who would believe me?" He asked, his voice cracking.

The two sat there for what seemed like an hour, not saying anything. None of them knew what to say. Carlos didn't continue with the story until a long time later.

"They made me… they whipped me if I didn't say it l-like I m-meant it," Carlos whispered, tears starting to flow down his cheeks again. Logan wrapped his arm around Carlos, and pulled him in close to him. Carlos had been going through this all this time, and none of them had even tried to find out what was bothering poor Carlos. They were such horrible friends.

"Who?" Logan asked frantically, starting to panic. Carlos looked away, trying to avoid the question. Logan shook him gently. "Carlos, tell me who it was!"

"Guitar D-dude," Carlos whispered, not meeting Logan's gaze. Logan relaxed. Oh, it was only Jake, the suspect they already suspected. Good thing there weren't anyone else in the-

"Wait, Carlos, you said _they_. Who were the other people?" Logan asked, starting to panic once again. Carlos bit his lip and tears glittered in his eyes. He didn't want to tell Logan; but what if this was for the best? What if Logan could convince them that Carlos didn't' do it on purpose after he told Logan that Jo was actually in with Jake, too? But what if everything just backfired after he told Logan, and Logan would just call him a liar and be convinced that Carlos actually _did_ do what he denied?

Carlos decided to tell Logan. Logan was his friend and he deserved Carlos's trust. Logan had always been there for him, and Carlos had to repay him by trusting in one of his biggest secrets yet. No matter how Logan reacted to it, Carlos would always still love him like a best friend.

"It was _her_," Carlos started lamely, no meeting Logan's penetrating stare.

"A girl?" Logan's eyes widened when Carlos nodded shamefully. A _girl?_ Logan would never have expected one of the jerks to be a girl…

"She l-lives at the Palm Woods, and y-you know her…" Carlos hinted, not really wanting to say Jo's name at that moment. It made him feel angry and sad and scare and betrayed all at the same time if he actually spoke her name out loud. Jo. It was one small two-worded syllable, but it caused Carlos so much pain.

"She… we sang a song to her…" Carlos continued after Logan kept on giving him a blank stare. Logan's eyes widened. Could it really be?

"Jo? Was it Jo?" Carlos nodded.

"Like, the Kendall's girlfriend Jo?"

"Logan, there's no other Jo in the Palm Woods," Carlos pointed out, looking a little amused at the shock and panic on Logan's face. Logan always panicked way too much about little things, but this _was_ something everyone should be panicking about.

"Oh my gosh, we have to tell Kendall and-"

"No! We c-can't tell him!" Carlos interrupted loudly. He lowered his voice, not wanting James or Kendall or anyone else hearing. He didn't want Kendall to know yet. Kendall wouldn't believe him… he needed proof before he could accuse Kendall's girlfriend.

"Why not?"

Carlos stared Logan in the eyes. "Kendall's not gonna believe me. We need to find proof that Jo's doing this, or Kendall's just gonna think we're crazy. I mean, why would Kendall believe that his own _girlfriend_ was doing all this stuff?"

Logan nodded in agreement, a smile forming on his face. "Hey, you're actually _smart_ for once, Carlos." He laughed, earning a punch from Carlos.

Logan stood up. "But, seriously, dude, I'm really sorry for not believing you in the first place. You'd never do something like that. I was stupid to think that you would even _think_ about it," Logan said.

"All is forgiven, Logie," Carlos grinned and pulled Logan into a huge bear hug. Logan squirmed uncomfortably, but Carlos didn't care. It felt good to have human contact with someone who _wasn't_ trying to beat the crap out of him.

_Line line line_

"What! You let him _go?_" Jake's voice rose an octave after Jo told him about letting Carlos escape. Jo nodded, smirking.

"He was no use anyways."

Jake shook his head. "No! I still need him! I need to hurt him for hurting me!" Jake protested. Carlos couldn't have been gone already. He still had unfinished business with him. He needed to have Carlos back, but it wouldn't be as easy this time. His friends were all ready and prepared, and would never leave Carlos alone ever again. His chance was gone. His chance for revenge had been ruined.

"Why would you do that?" Jake asked angrily.

Jo shrugged indifferently. "He wasn't causing _me_ trouble anymore, so why still keep him just because of _you_? We could have gotten caught," Jo said with a satisfied tone in her voce.

"I can't believe you!" Jake cried, lunging at Jo with whatever he happened to have in his hands right then from cutting an apple.

Jo collapsed.

**A/N- Oh gosh… now what's gonna happen? The twist at the end? I really don't know where that came from… but if you guys don't get it, Jo got, um, _hurt_ with a knife by Jake. So, yeah. **

**And check out my new story called Vanishing by me! It's Carlos angst! :) Go Carlos angst! So, um, check it out, okay? And review this chapter, of course! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes, **

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	25. I Can't Forgive You

_**Chapter 25**_

Carlos was happy. For once in 2 months, he was actually feeling happy for once. Logan had told James everything, and luckily, James had understood and forgiven him. The three were now best friends again, joking around and messing with Bitters like the old days.

But there was one thing that still bothered Carlos. Kendall. Kendall still acted like he hated him. He ignored Carlos when he asked him a question, didn't talk to Carlos, never looked at him, never said his name, and seemed to show no emotion towards anyone. Carlos hated how Kendall was acting, but he wanted to help Kendall return to normal. Why didn't Kendall believe him? Why didn't Kendall realize that Carlos couldn't even hurt a fly?

"Kendall?" Carlos sat on the edge of Kendall's bed, kicking his legs, which were hanging from Kendall's tall bed.

Kendall seemed to look away; Carlos couldn't tell if it was intentional or not. "Kendall?" Carlos repeated, wishing more than anything that Kendall would reply. He didn't care what Kendall said; he just wanted him to talk to him.

"Kendall, why-" Kendall turned and stared at Carlos. Carlos was expecting to see anger or something in his eyes, but he didn't. He saw something that he couldn't really read. It looked like Kendall was crying or something. But Kendall never cried. What if… someone died? Carlos wasn't good at reading people's emotions, but he was sure Kendall was worrying about something else at that moment. Carlos bit his lip and slowly left the room. He didn't know what had just happened, but he knew that it was something that was bad, at least in Kendall's eyes.

"James? Logie?" Carlos called his other two friends over, telling them about Kendall's strange behavior.

James and Logan quickly paced into Kendall's room, their eyes filled with worry, confusion, and concern. Carlos followed along; he was still worried about Kendall, even though it seemed as though Kendall didn't really care about him anymore.

"Kendall, what's the matter?" James said demandingly. Kendall narrowed his eyes at the three, not saying or showing anything. No one ever knew why Kendall didn't like showing emotion to other people when he was upset. Maybe it was his pride or something?

"Kendall, you have to tell us," Logan urged him. Kendall's eyes softened when Logan stared at him sadly. Kendall still had a spot for Logan, even though he had threw Carlos completely aside now. The blonde sighed.

"It's… it's Jo." He said dejectedly. Carlos's heart thumped loudly. Did Jo break up with him? If she did, Carlos didn't know what to think or feel. Happy? Sad for Kendall?

"Aw, dude, did she break up with you?" James asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. Logan and James both agreed that they hated Jo at that moment, and Carlos could tell they were kind of happy that Kendall wouldn't be associating with Jo anymore.

"NO!" Kendall stood up, knocking some things over. His breathing grew more and more panicked. His eyes turned a shade darker.

"No, guys, you don't understand," Kendall whispered, his voice once again void of any emotion. James and Logan and Carlos stared at him expectantly.

"We've all been through break ups, man-" Kendall interrupted James.

"No! Jo's in the hospital! And she's dying!"

For the first time in years, Kendall Knight collapsed onto the ground and started to cry.

_Line line line _

"Dude, it's alright. She could live," Logan reminded Kendall for the hundredth time that day. The foursome was heading towards the hospital Jo was said to be in. Kendall's eyes were red, but he had stopped crying. Kendall's only ever cried a few minutes, and then he'd stop.

When they arrived, Kendall ran into Jo's room. "Leave me alone!" He shouted, closing the door gently as if not to wake Jo. James sighed, Logan bit his lip, and Carlos stared at the door. What was happening in there? Was Jo dying? Carlos still didn't know what to think.

James sat down into a soft chair, and Logan followed his actions. "Carlos, we don't know what to say." James admitted softly, closing his eyes. This was all too much for all of them. Kendall didn't even suspect Jo to be evil, so he'd be heartbroken if Jo ever died. And even though the other three boys didn't want to wish death upon anyone, they kind of wanted Jo dead so she wouldn't cause anymore problems.

Carlos wanted Jo dead… but he _didn't _want Jo dead, either. He would never, ever, hope that someone was dead, no matter how much he hated them. Jo was a human being; she wasn't perfect. Even though she was cruel to Carlos, Carlos didn't want her to die and hurt Kendall more than he already was. Kendall acted so strong, but under these circumstances, he'd break soon Carlos didn't know what to do. His eyes filled with tears, and he sniffled quietly.

James opened up his arms, and Carlos sat on his lap and put his head on his shoulder. Logan's lip shook, and he tried not to cry as he stared at the door where the longest dating couple in the Palm Woods was currently in. The doctor told them she was stabbed, and breathing on a life machine. She was awake, but would probably die if the plug was ever pulled.

All of them knew that soon, the longest dating couple would be no more.

_Line line line _

"Jo, don't do this to me…" Kendall breathed softly, lifting Jo's cheek with his warm hand. Jo stared up at him softly, her eyes softening.

"Kendall, this wasn't my decision. I don't want to die." Jo told him gently. She couldn't bear to see the pain in Kendall's eyes, knowing that she was the cause of it. Two time, actually. Kendall was probably still hurt from what Carlos supposedly told him.

"Who did this to you?" Kendall demanded, his voice shaking badly.

Jo glanced down. "G-guitar Dude did, Kendall," she answered quietly. Fear and guilt was slowly crawling into her soul. Fear that she was going to die no matter what. She couldn't stay on this machine forever, so she'd have to choose when she wanted to go. And that was the hardest decision anyone could ever make. Choosing when to die.

"I'm going to kill him. And maybe Carlos, too, because this is all his fault, too," Kendall whispered harshly. His breathing was uneven, and Jo became even more guilty. Kendall hated Carlos so much, just because he did something… something that Jo had forced him to do. She had hurt poor innocent Carlos, and this was her fault. If she'd never joined Guitar Dude in the first place… she wouldn't be dying, Kendall wouldn't be crying, and Carlos wouldn't be hurt…

"Jo, I love you so, so much," Kendall said softly.

"I know you do, Kendall. I couldn't have asked for a better life."

Kendall's tears flowed rapidly down his face. "It ended too early," he protested, as if that could get Jo to live for a few more decades.

Jo sighed. "That's fate for you." She said grimly.

"I just wish I could've known that Carlos had been a phony all along. I wished I'd known that Guitar Dude was cruel, too…" Kendall tried to keep in his sobs, but he couldn't.

Jo knew what she had to do. She couldn't stand Kendall blaming Carlos anymore. This was her fault, and she did it all because she wanted Kendall. And now, she couldn't have Kendall anymore. She was going, and she at least owed the people she'd hurt this one last thing. She owed Carlos. She owed Kendall. Innocent, innocent, Carlos, and poor, poor, Kendall. She owed them one last thing.

"Tell them to come in." Jo rasped, her voice getting weaker and weaker. She would die right away now if the breathing machine was taken from her.

Kendall nodded sadly. Soon, the other boys were inside, too, staring at Jo with sadness, sympathy, fear, confusion, and anger. Jo knew she was the cause of every one of those emotions.

"Jo, we won't ever forget you," James said, tears in his eyes. Jo was dying, and James couldn't even imagine how scared she was right now.

"You're leaving us too early, Jo," Logan choked out through his tears. Maybe Jo could've changed. But now they would never know, because something evil, called death had taken over Jo's life.

Jo smiled at them. Her one last smile. She tried to remember forever how it felt to smile. Because she would never be doing it again. "Carlos."

Carlos stepped forwards hesitantly. Jo raised her arm and put her hand on Carlos's shoulder. Carlos stared at her, not knowing what to say.

"Carlos, I'm sorry."

Kendall coughed. "What are you sorry about? This is all _his_ fault," Kendall pointed accusingly at Carlos. Carlos kept on staring intently on Jo, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Kendall, I've been lying to you. I worked with Jake and took Carlos. I threatened to kill him if he didn't say those things into the tape. I wanted you to hate him and everyone else so you'd have time for me forever." Jo explained, her voice soft and regretful. This wasn't worth it. Death wasn't worth it. She shouldn't have done what she had, but there was no going back now.

"So… you were the bad guy all along? You tricked me?" Kendall asked, his eyes filling with anger and betrayal. Jo had betrayed him.

Jo shook her head quickly. "Kendall, I did this all because I love you. So, so much. And I'm sorry for doing it now. I'm sorry," she repeated, her brown eyes meeting Kendall's green eyes.

"I can't believe you," Kendall said, as if saying that would make this all a nightmare.

"I'm so sorry, Kendall. And I'm so sorry, Carlos. Please forgive me. I love all of you, but I don't know why I did all that…"

Kendall clenched his fist, moving closer to Jo. "You… bastard." All along, it was Jo. He'd ignored and hated Carlos for no reason. He'd believed in Jo and told her all his secrets, and he'd never betrayed her. Jo had been so evil all along. He didn't care if she did it because of her love for him. She shouldn't have done it. She was evil, her heart was black. Kendall couldn't forget this. He'd been led the wrong way all this time. And all along, it was his girlfriend. _All along_.

Jo's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Kendall," she said for the very last time.

Kendall shook his head, reaching his hand out. "I'm sorry, Jo, but I can't forgive you. Not after what you've done." He reached over Jo, knowing he'd never regret what he was about to do.

Kendall Knight pulled the plug from the one thing keeping Jo alive. Jo collapsed, and this time, she wasn't getting back up.

**A/N- Gosh... that was sad. Now I'M having conflicted emotions about Jo. I don't know how you guys are feeling, but now don't you think Jo isn't _that_ evil anymore?**

**That was the saddest thing I've ever written,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	26. Forgiven

_**Chapter 26**_

All the four guys could only stare for what seemed like the longest time. None of them, not even Kendall himself, could believe what just happened. Kendall basically just… _killed_ Jo. But she was going to die anyway, Kendall just made it quicker. Right?

"Kendall..." Surprisingly, Logan was the first to break the silence. He stared at Kendall like he didn't know him. The Kendall _he_ knew wouldn't just do something as cruel as that. But the Jo he knew wouldn't have betrayed them like that, either. Logan didn't know who was who anymore.

"I'm sorry, but I can't regret what I did," Kendall's soft voice broke through. James, Logan, and Carlos watched as Kendall pulled Jo into a kiss. This time, though, Jo wouldn't feel a thing.

But Kendall really didn't regret it; he wanted to have Jo suffer… even if it was forever. She didn't deserve another moment of life after what she'd done. Even _if_ it was for love, it still was a cruel and retarded thing to do.

"We know, Kendall… you did the right thing, in a way…" James trailed off, not knowing what to say anymore. _Did_ Kendall do the right thing? Or was what he did something worth hating? Would Kendall go to jail for this? After all, he didn't really have the permission to pull the plug off Jo. What if this was counted as murder?

"Kendall…w-why would you d-do that?" Carlos stared up at Kendall, his eyes filled with shock, confusion, and something else that Kendall couldn't read.

"Carlos, she was hurting you, buddy!" Kendall replied.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to go and… kill her," Carlos's voice cracked, and his eyes filled. "Maybe she could've changed. But now they're going to think you killed her and their gonna take you to _jail_ and you'll never see her again because she's dead and-" Carlos was cut off when Kendall pulled him into his chest.

"Carlos, I did this for_ you_. No one's gonna get me, okay? Jo's not gonna hurt you anymore. Don't you want that?" Kendall asked gently, not wanting Carlos to take it the wrong way.

Carlos nodded. "Yeah, I do, but I didn't want her to_ die_," he admitted, looking down.

Kendall sighed. "Carlos, Jo was going to die anyways. I just made it a little quicker. So don't worry about it, okay? She was already dead anyways, oaky?" Kendall wished Carlos would stop telling him what he did wrong. Honestly, he was starting to feel guilty for it. But for some reason he couldn't understand, he didn't regret what he had done; he just felt a little guilty. Was there even a difference between guilt and regret?

"O-okay. Can we go home now? Jo's kinda f-freaking me out," Carlos licked his lips and glanced at Jo for the very last time. Her face looked peaceful; like she was merely taking a little nap. But Carlos knew that wasn't true, and he was a little creeped at the fact that he was staring at a _dead_ person. A dead girl who used to be his friend.

How did everything change so quickly?

_Line line line _

When the boys got home, none of them said a word for a long time. None of them knew what to say, anyways. Congrats for killing Jo? We're glad eveyrthing's okay again? Because they knew nothing would ever be the same again…

"Carlos? Can you come into my room? I need to talk with you," Kendall demanded. Carlos almost smiled. This was the first time Kendall ever spoke to him since the week he got back.

"Privately," Kendall added when James and Logan started following them.

Carlos sat on Logan's clean bed, and Kendall sat on his messy one. The blonde boy stared at his youngest friend, not really knowing what to say to start the conversation. What _could_ he say? I'm sorry? I hate Jo? I hate Jake? Kendall knew he had been a total jerk, and he had accused Carlos for _nothing_. Carlos hadn't done anything wrong, and he had ignored him.

"I'm sorry." The two looked at each other after they both said those to words aloud at the same time. Kendall was confused; what was Carlos sorry about?

"What are_ you_ sorry about?" Kendall asked incredulously. Carlos shrugged.

"if I hadn't said those things… you wouldn't have been hurt…"

Kendall stood up, narrowly avoiding bumping his head on the lamp hanging form the ceiling. "Carlos, you have_ nothing_ to be sorry for. You were forced to, buddy, and I'm the one who was a jerk through this entire thing. I was too trusting; I trusted Jo too much. And I'm really sorry." And Kendall meant every word of it.

Carlos smiled; it was barely there, but it was there nonetheless. "Thanks/. I'm glad I have you as a best friend again, Kendall," Carlos said softly, staring into Kendall's green eyes. Carlos had always wondered if Kendall saw things green sometimes.

"I don't deserve you, Carlos. Thanks for bearing with me," Kendall said, smirking. Carlos stood up after Kendall, and they opened the door. Unsurprisingly, James and Logan came stumbling inside.

"Were you _spying _on us?" Kendall asked, wide eyed. His stupid friends.

Logan laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, _eavesdropping_ is a more accurate term for it," he stated. Carlos giggled, and Kendall was glad he could hear that sound again. He was glad Carlos was pretty much back to normal. It was one of the shortest conversations any of them ever had, but it was the most meaningful one.

"So… you made up?" James asked, already knowing the answer to his stupid question.

Kendall grinned down at Carlos. "What do you think?"

_Line line line _

Jake smirked when he read about Jo's unexpected death. Now there would be one less thing to worry about. He'd always worried that Jo would spill some of their secrets to Kendall. She loved Kendall more than anything, and Jake was cautious of their love.

But now that Jo was gone, Kendall was heart broken, and still hated Carlos. Everything was working out perfectly. Now all he had to do was take all of them, lock them in his basement, and then beat some crap out of them His revenge was about to get sweet.

He was already sure how he was going to lure those pathetic boys into his perfect trap. Even that clever one, Kendall, was going to be tricked. If any of them weren't fooled, he'd just kill them right off. He didn't care about those boys. All he cared about was fame. He wanted Gustavo, he wanted to record an album and have girls screaming for him. He had been training for this all his life; those boys were hockey players, for God's sake! They didn't even want this. But Jake _did_. He wanted it so bad he was willing to capture these boys and keep them captive forever.

His mother had always told him that fame and fortune would get him a long way. She had always told him to be kind and caring. She had always told him that he should never, _ever_, hurt someone else to get to the top. But Jake didn't care _what_ his mom said anymore; he was going to push everyone out of the way until he got to the very top. Then, everything would be perfect.

Now all he needed to do was to start luring the mice into the mouse trap. He would start with the stupidest, most gullible one. The one who would most likely fall for his trap _again_.

Carlos Garcia. He would be the first, and all the rest of them would be trapped right after him. One by one, until they were all stuck in his hands. Then, he could do anything he wanted with them. Anything at all.

And soon, _very soon_, he'd be at the very top.

**A/N- SO sorry for the slow update! I've been busy having fun and school and all that stuff… But I hope this makes up for it? Please review and tell me how crappy this chapter was… I feel like I rushed through it… I'm so sorry… So, what do you think? Are they gonna get captured? Or will they be too smart? **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	27. Trapped

_**Chapter 27**_

Jake Blanchard pulled out his disguise, chuckling to himself evilly. "Idiots," he muttered, grinning madly. He was going to trap these boys one by one, and pick them off the earth one by one, until they were all dead. Or worse.

He had waited for a few days for thing to calm down. The guys were definitely cautious about everything after what had happened with Carlos. But Jake was sure that now, things had cooled off, and the guys had returned to their careless selves.

Jake grinned, already setting up for the first part of his plan. Carlos. Carlos was the gullible, stupid, careless little boys who'd be the easiest to catch. All he had to do was find things in common with Carlos, and Carlos would love him like a best friend.

Jake waited until he saw his target. The small Latino boy was walking around the Palm Woods Park, his face bored and his hands rubbing against each other. Perfect. Jake was already in character; he was merely a dude with sunglasses, skinny jeans (which were killing him), and a magician's top hat.

"Hey, little boy," Jake called out to Carlos. Carlos whirled around, and smiled.

"Hey!" He literally bounced over to where Jake was, staring at him with awe.

"You like helmets?" Jake asked, making his voice a little deeper. Carlos nodded.

"I _love_ them!"

Jake smiled. "Then you'll _love_ the new magician's hat I just got. It's actually a helmet that can do a bunch of magic tricks!" Jake knew his plan was working just by the light in Carlos's brown eyes.

"You wanna go see it?" Carlos nodded eagerly, immediately following Jake without any hesitation. _Idiot_, Jake thought to himself silently. They two walked for a few minutes, conversing with each other. Finally, Jake arrived at his small house in the middle of nowhere. Carlos didn't seem to notice anything at first, but then he seemed to be a little suspicious.

"Hey, this isn't a shop."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Of course it isn't, buddy." He ripped off his sunglasses and hat, and Carlos literally froze in fear and shock. Jake grabbed his wrist and pulled him into his house once again. He dragged him near the door leading to the basement, and pushed him in.

Carlos tumbled down the steps. "Ow!" He cried when he landed, rubbing the sore spots all over his body. Jake took him _again_. Why? Everything was so perfect, and then everything just exploded in his face. Carlos didn't know what to do. His friends probably wouldn't even knew for hours, and by then, he could be… dead.

Carlos shuddered and curled up on the damp floor, listening to the sounds of trickling water. That never ending _drip drop_ of the water.

_Line line line _

Jake sighed in content. The first little piggy was caught. Now he was moving on to the next one. James. James was pretty gullible, and he was _in love_ with fashion and himself. This would be just as easy as Carlos.

Jake changed into his outfit of an old man with a white beard and suit. He walked out into the streets where he had spotted James a few hours ago. Sure enough, James was still wandering around, a few bags in his hand. Jake almost laughed. What _dude_ in their right mind went _shopping_? Obviously James did.

"Free hair gel from Cuda!" Jake shouted randomly. He saw James immediately turn his way, his hair flying all over the place. James ran on over to Jake, his eyes wide.

"Where? Where?" He asked.

Jake grinned. "In my daughter's shop. It's right around the corner."

James nodded impatiently. "Take me there!"

Soon enough, the two were walking down the same street where Jake's house was located. In an empty, deserted, beautiful road.

James glanced around nervously. "Hey, um, never mind about that hair stuff. I-I gotta get home," he said quickly, starting to turn. Jake was ready for this. He whipped out his string and, tripping James with his feet, sat on him and tied is around his arms. Jake grabbed James's bags, and pulled him along the rest of the way to his house.

"Hey! Let go of me! HELP!" James shouted, fear showing in his eyes.

Jake laughed. "Never, James Diamond. It's time for my revenge." Jake sneered. He could tell by the shock and realization on James's face that the pretty boy knew who he was.

"Guitar Dude? Where are you taking me? Let me g-go or I'm gonna-" Jake shoved a cloth into James's mouth, shutting him up. He did the same thing with James; threw him down the stairs. Jake threw James's bags down with him, grinning. He left after he heard James's cries of pain.

"Two down, two to go," Jake chuckled, locking the door providing the only escape for James and Carlos. Two to go.

_Line line line _

Kendall Knight. Guitar Dude had always hated him, even from the beginning. The stupid leader who got Gustavo's liking. Gustavo picked stupid _Kendall_ instead of him. Jake knew he'd never forgive Kendall. Even though it technically wasn't Kendall's fault… well, _technically _wasn't enough for Jake.

Jake knew someone who sold junk, such as old cars and stuff like that. He gave Jake a old taxi car for borrow. If Jake didn't return it, he'd have to pay for it. Jake had got it to work, and got someone to paint it yellow for him. He made it look like a taxi. And he had to admit, it looked dangerously close to a real cab.

Logan would be way too wary to ever get into the taxi. He'd notice how the taxi didn't have the usual things a taxi did. But Kendall knew nothing about taxis, right? He'd take any that came by his way. And he wouldn't suspect anything, because taxis were always suspicious, no matter who was driving it or where they were driving it.

Jake drove down the rode, his mustache and sunglasses on. He didn't really know why he used stupid disguises like the ones he was using, but he it worked, didn't it?

It seemed that all of the BTR boys were strolling around outside of the Palm Woods today for some strange reason. Jake spotted Kendall signing a shirt for one of his fans. She was all out _hot_, and Jake couldn't help but think that could've been him. But BTR had to come and ruin it for him.

He had come first. So why hadn't he gotten first pick? It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair.

Kendal turned around and left after giving the ecstatic fan a hug, and then looked around for a taxi. Jake always hated celebrities for squandering their money. Kendall could've walked home in an easy 10 minutes, but he just _had_ to be lazy and take a taxi. But this time, Kendall was doing exactly what Jake wanted him to do, so he had no complaints.

Kendall spotted Jake and waved him over. Jake muttered a quick 'hello' to Kendall, asking him where he was going. Kendall told him, and then lay back onto the seat and closed his eyes. Jake made sure to lock the doors, and he started driving off.

Kendall still hadn't opened his eyes when Jake turned into his drive. Jake shrugged. Kendall was seriously making this way easier than it should have been.

The blonde finally noticed the ride was taking a little _too_ long and opened his eyes. His green orbs glittered with confusion. "Dude, where the heck did you take me?"

Jake laughed. "My house," he replied, grabbing onto Kendall's shirt and pressing a gun to his temple. "Don't move, or I'm gonna blow your brains out."

Kendall set his jaw firmly, not showing any fear whatsoever. Jake dragged him out, into his house, and down the stairs to the basement.

"You sick bastard!" Kendall shouted loudly once he reached the ground. Jake sighed. Kendall never showed any fear, and he was so stubborn. Both horrible things in a victim. But Jake needed him for his revenge anyways.

"Have fun, Kendall!" He called down cheerfully, closing the door softly. He ignored Kendall's yells of protest below him. _Click._

_Line line line_

Logan was worried. He had no clue where any of his friends were. Whenever he tried to call, he'd receive no connection on the other line. Wherever they were, it sure wasn't someplace public. What if they went to do something without him?

Logan sighed. His friends were so stupid sometimes. James with his conceited attitude, Kendall with his stubborn and prideful one, and Carlos with his crazy antics. Logan had always considered himself to be the level-headed one, the "Mom" of the group. He didn't really mind it, except at times like this one.

His friends always thought he was too scared to do things, so they left him out of a bunch of stupid things he wouldn't have joined in the first place. But why couldn't they at least ask first?

Logan pulled on his shoes, jerking back up when his phone started ringing. He flipped it open, and saw the name on the caller ID. He sighed, and pressed "talk".

"Kendall?"

**A/N- So, it worked… but how's Logan gonna get into this? You'll see in the next chapter! **

**Jake… he's so cruel, huh? But I just wanted to remind everyone it's all because of his jealousy and envy. Ya know, I think you won't be jealous of something or someone if you don't think about it. Really. Try it sometime, Jake/Guitar Dude.**

**Review? I love reading em!**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle! **


	28. Party

_**Chapter 28**_

Carlos huddled in the corner, trying to hum a familiar tune to himself just to keep his little body occupied. His body was trembling from the cold and from his fear, and he didn't know what to do. It was happening all over again. Him getting thrown into a basement, being locked inside and deprived water and food and sunlight all over again.

The Latino boy was just about to curl up and cry when he heard a noise at the top of the stairs. Jake shouted something and threw something down the stair. For a terrifying second, Carlos thought it was a bomb or something. He was sure he was going to die.

But then, he heard a grunt, and he knew that someone was down there with him. His body went rigid with fear. Who could it be? What if it was someone coming to get him? What if they were coming to kill him?

The figure groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Geez, that _turd_," he mumbled, not even noticing Carlos in the corner. Carlos whipped his head up. Only him and Kendall and James and Logan said _turd_, so could it be that it was one of his friends? It was almost too good to be true. Almost.

Based on his voice and his shape, Carlos assumed that it was James. "J-James?" He whispered into the darkness. The figure jumped, shocked and startled by the sudden noise. His shopping bags lay on the floor in heaps around him.

"Who- Carlos?" James grinned when he recognized Carlos's voice. Carlos crawled over to his older friends, curling up in his chest. James put him in his lap, and cradled his head.

"What… what happened?" James asked hesitantly.

Carlos sighed. "Jake… he's trying to get "revenge" on us or something," Carlos explained. James nodded, though it was hard to see the slight movement in the dark.

"You alright, buddy?" James asked quietly. Carlos nodded and buried his face into the crook of James's tan neck.

"I d-don't understand why, James," Carlos whispered softly. James didn't even have to ask what he meant by the statement.

"Some people in the world are cruel, Carlos. Not everyone's as nice and friendly as you want them to be, buddy. And we just have to try to get through this, and we'll be alright, ok?" James sounded like he was trying to convince himself, but Carlos didn't detect the tone in his voice. He was way too scared and worried for the both of them.

"But wh-what did we do to him?" Carlos sniffled and wiped a tear away with his sleeve. James sighed; Carlos wasn't supposed to have to go through this. He was too innocent, yet Jake was sick enough to lock _Carlos_ and James inside this… whatever this was.

"Carlos, you told us why, remember? His need for fame made him do horrible things." James explained quietly. He remembered that day Carlos had told them the whole story. It was a day much better than this one. They had no clue what they were gotten themselves into.

"I'm scared, James," Carlos whimpered into James's shirt. James held him closer.

"I know, Carlos. I am too."

The two sat in the dark silence for a pretty long time. It could have been minutes later, or hours later, but the two were started out of their manly silence when something was thrown down the stairs _again._

James and Carlos huddled even closer to the corner than ever, bur James relaxed when he realized who the person was. Kendall. His green eyes practically glowed in the dark.

"Carlos, buddy, it's Kendall." James gently told Carlos, who relaxed and stood up, brushing off the debris and dirt on his pants.

"Guys? What are you doing here?" Kendall's confused voice asked.

"Same thing as you," James mumbled, sighing. Everything was getting worse and worse. He expected to see Logan thrown down in a few minutes, too, but that wasn't the case. Someone _did_ open the door, but the man who came down was… Jake. Horrible, disgusting Jake.

"Hey, my little boys," he cooed in a cruel voice. Carlos hid behind James and Kendall. The two older stood protectively in front of their youngest friend.

"What do you _want_, Jake?" Kendall practically sneered. Jake grinned, showing his yellow and crooked teeth.

"I want nothing but to hurt you, my three little piggies. But, oh no, where's the fourth one?"

James took a step forward. "Logan's not stupid enough to fall for your traps! We may be, but he's not."

Jake laughed. It was a horrible sound. "Oh, I know. So that's why I've come up with another plan. And that one involves you guys." None of them liked the sound of that.

"Blonde. Give me your phone." Kendall decided it wouldn't hurt anything, so he handed it over. Jake looked through the contacts list. He stopped scrolling when it landed on "Logan Mitchell". "I want you to call you nerd friend here, and tell him exactly where you are. Also tell him that you're totally fine. And tell him to come over."

Kendall gaped. "You're kidding me, right? Why would you think I'd ever do that?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "That's what I thought you'd say." Before any of them knew it, he grabbed Carlos by the wrists from his spot behind James. James tried to take him back, but he failed miserably. Jake was a lot stronger than they'd thought.

"If you don't, your little _friend_ here is gonna suffer the consequences." He shoved Carlos behind him harshly, smirking. Kendall bit his lip. He couldn't just lure Logan into this trap. He had to come up with a plan. What could he do?

For once, Kendall Knight had no clue what he could do. He couldn't get Carlos hurt, but he couldn't lead Logan into a trap, either. He locked eyes with Jake's, and they stared at each other for quite some time. His brain was turning and turning, trying to think of something to do.

A few minutes later, Jake looked away. "So, have you decided yet, Knight?" Kendall felt like punching him and pulling all his hair out. But he didn't. That would just cause more trouble, right?

Kendall hesitated in answering, because he really _didn't_ know what to do yet. He was never this puzzled, never this helpless. His hesitation caused Jake to take Carlos and shove him to the ground. He put his foot on Carlos's body, holding him down.

Kendall's eyes widened. Jake obviously wasn't kidding when he said Carlos would suffer the consequences. He didn't want to get Carlos hurt anymore. "Okay! I'll do it, you… bastard." Kendall spit out, anger almost blurring his vision. How could this cruel man do this to them? They were just teenagers; they didn't deserve any of this.

Jake narrowed his eyes and kicked Carlos hard in the ribs. The Latino's face scrunched up in pain, but he didn't make a sound. Kendall quickly took the phone and dialed Logan's number. He couldn't stand watching Carlos get hurt. Maybe Logan would know something was wrong? Maybe he'd call the police and they'd all be safe?

As Kendall listened to one ring after another, he knew he was kidding himself. Jake had got all of them, and that was that. None of them had been careful enough, and now they stuck in this disgusting place with an even more disgusting man.

"Kendall?" Kendall almost jumped when he heard Logan's voice breaking his thoughts.

"Hey, Logan!" Kendall called out, his voice echoing in the dark and eerie silence.

He heard Logan sigh. "Where _are_ you guys, Kendall?"

"Um, we're at a, um," Kendall didn't want to say it. Once he did, Logan would be trapped. He would come to Jake's house, and then he'd be stuck, too, and everything would be ruined. It would all be over too soon.

Jake gritted his teeth, pulling Carlos upright and shoving him into the wall. He raised his fist up. Kendall quickly blurted into the phone, "... a party! Yeah, it's really awesome. You should come and meet us. Then we can go somewhere to eat!" Kendall wished more than anything that that were true. That they _were_ at someone's house chilling, and then they'd go out to wherever and eat. But he was struck back into reality when Logan's voice broke his thoughts _again_.

"Um, sure… where are you guys?" Logan asked. Kendall took a deep breath.

"Wait a sec, alright? I need to ask the guy who lives here." He looked over to Jake, expecting him to say something. Maybe Logan would hear Jake's voice and recognize it? But Jake was already expecting this, so he whispered something into Carlos's ear.

"4125 Barrington Avenue?" Carlos repeated to Kendall, his eyes scared and wide. The statement cam out more as a question, but Kendall repeated the address into the phone, and Logan said he'd be there in 5 minutes. Then he hung up, and Kendall was left on the other side of the line, hearing the _beep, beep _of the phone.

Logan was coming. He didn't even suspect a thing. He was tricked, too, by his own _best_ friend. But Kendall hoped more than ever that Logan would understand that he had to do it. He couldn't let Carlos get hurt. He couldn't even let James get hurt, either. He didn't want to hurt Logan, but he couldn't get his _other_ two best friends hurt, either.

"Good boy." Jake sneered, letting go of his tight grasp on Carlos's arms. Carlos winced and rubbed the bruises already forming on his arms. Jake walked up the stairs without a word, and locked the door behind him.

Kendall sighed. "I'm sorry." He whispered, feeling tears forming in his eyes. He had still hurt Carlos even when he'd tried not to, and he'd hurt Logan, too.

"Hey, it's not your fault. Logan's too smart for Jake's dumb plans." James assured Kendall. None of them really believed that anymore, because they'd heard Logan agree to come in 5 minutes. In 5 more minutes, their lives would be ruined. They were dying too soon.

Logan. They were all counting on Logan now. If Logan was just distracted by something and didn't really care to notice anything strange about the phone call, they would all be dead by the next day. But if he did… what could he do? Call the police? What if it was too late for that?

The three boys sat on the cold ground, holding on tight to each other and thinking about everything that had gave them joy in their lives, because soon enough, they weren't going to feel that blissful feeling again.

**A/N- I'm so sorry… I took such a long time to update, and then I give you this horrible chapter… sigh. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.**

**But going on to more serious matters, do you think Logan knows anything? What do you think's gonna happen? Are they gonna die? Or not? ;)**

**Well, review and tell me your thoughts! PLEASE?**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	29. Burning

_**Chapter 29**_

Logan sighed as he hung up his phone. Stupid Kendall and James and Carlos. He hated it when they just left him alone in the apartment to do something fun and dangerous. They all knew that Logan wouldn't have allowed them at a party, so they had decided to go without his permission.

But the funny thing was, why would Kendall tell Logan there was a party when he knew that Logan would ruin it? Kendall had sounded a little scared… but was it because he was scared that Logan would scold him? Or maybe Mrs. Knight would? But Kendall Knight wasn't scared of silly thing like _that,_ right?

Logan knew something was up, but he didn't know what. On the drive there, Logan almost crashed into the curb from thinking so hard. He'd never heard of the address Kendall had told him. Who could it be? Usually, Logan memorized the addresses of everyone's houses they took a step into. But he didn't remember this one at all.

When he arrived on the road the house was located in, he was even more doubtful and confused. If was completely deserted. Were his friends playing a trick on him? If they were… Logan would be seriously angry. He was tired of being messed with.

But a few seconds later, he spotted one tired looking house sitting on the edge of a grassy field. Strange. Logan had no clue _who_ in their right mind would live _here_. Logan got out of his car quickly, and paced to the door. He peeked inside, being the cautious guy he was, and almost froze.

Why the heck was _Jake_ in there? Jake, as in the guy who tried to _kill_ Carlos?

Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place; Kendall's strange tone of voice, the silence in the background when Kendall had called, Jake inside the house. His friends were kidnapped. Trapped in Jake's house.

Without thinking, Logan whipped out his cell phone and dialed 911. Just then, He saw Jake nearing the door. Logan sprinted back into his car, starting the ignition. He could see Jake opening the door, spotting Logan, and swearing. Logan knew he had to act fast, because Jake already knew what Logan was up to.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"My friends have been kidnapped." Logan told them the address and told the dispatcher that they needed to come as quickly as they could. After he hung up, he started driving away from the house. Jake was already coming closer and closer to the car, and sooner or later, he'd jump on the car or something.

Logan drove out of the empty road, and stopped in a McDonald's parking lot.

He really hoped his friends would be alright.

_Line line line _

The three captured boys looked up when Jake opened the door angrily. "Stupid good for nothing MORONS!" He shouted to no one in particular.

"Your stupid friend, Logan, just called the stupid cops on me!" Jake yelled at them, spitting in each of their faces.

James's heart lifted. Could it really be? Logan had called the police on them? Could it really be? He could tell Kendall and Carlos were thinking the same things he was. What else could make Jake so angry?

"You guys better not scream, or I'm going to shoot you. The police ain't gonna find _any_ of you. I'll make sure of that." Jake turned around and walked back up the stairs, slamming the door shut for the millionth time that day.

James turned when Kendall sighed loudly. "Guys, what if they _don't_ find us?"

James shrugged. "I don't know. But the cops are smart. They're probably going to find three teenagers stuck in a basement."

Carlos whimpered. "Um, guys? Why does it smell like s-s-smoke in here?"

James and Kendall sniffed the room. "Oh my god ,look!" James screamed in horror when he followed Kendall's finger. A few yard away, at the end of the basement, were flames. Huge, engulfing flames that would soon spread towards them.

"Alright, guys! Just calm down! There's water everywhere, we can use that to try and distinguish the fire!" Kendall said calmly. James knew he was just trying to be strong for Carlos, and he admired that. James could _never_ take over a situation like this one.

"Bu-but… we d-don't have any buckets or anything t-to put the water in," Carlos pointed out, his eyes shining with fear and his eyes starting to water from the smoke.

James thought for a moment. "Shoes! We can use our shoes!"

The three boys took off their shoes and scooped water into them quickly. Kendall started running towards the fire, James and Carlos quickly following him. The threw their shoe-fuls of water onto the flames, but nothing seemed to happen.

"This isn't gonna work!" Kendall shouted. James was already starting to feel a little woozy from all the smoke and lack of fresh air. He was the strongest and the tallest, and he was already weakening. It wouldn't be long before Kendall or Carlos collapsed. James, out of his anger and worry and fear, threw his shoe at the door leading to their safety. The _locked_ door that would lead to their safety. It made a thumping noise as it hit the white wood of the door.

The flames seemed to spread second by second, reaching towards them. The three stood in fear, not knowing what to do. James's brain was turning and turning, but he just couldn't seem to figure out what to do. He knew Kendall was probably faring the same way. They were going to die here. After all those years of hard work, Big Time Rush would disappear into flames. Literally.

A few minutes passed by, and James's heart was beating faster and faster. His breath was getting shorter and shorter, and his lungs were probably black from all the smoke he was breathing in. He could hear himself and his friends coughing and coughing. It would just be a matter of time before they all collapsed and died.

"J-James. I c-can't breathe." James looked over at Carlos, who looked like he was about to die or something. And maybe he was. James knew that Carlos was the weakest one out of all of them. He was going to fall first.

James caught Carlos when his legs gave way. He held on to his little brother, telling him that it was going to be fine. But even Carlos knew that it wasn't going to be fine. They were going to die. _Die_.

"We h-have to do something! " Kendall coughed at James. They both sat on the ground, exhausted and weak, holding onto Carlos, who was already unconscious.

"There's n-nothing we can do!" James said hoarsely. He could feel his vision starting to turn black, and he knew Kendall's was, too.

"James… if I d-don't make it out of here… I-I love you." Kendall muttered, his eyes starting to flutter close.

"Right back at ya, Kendall. Let's hope someone comes and s-saves us." But James knew he was lying to himself.

Kendall closed his eyes, and James wasn't sure if he was still conscious. But he suddenly saw a light in the midst of all the orange and red. A light. And voices. Loud voices.

"Help us!" James shouted, using all the energy he had left.

Then, James blacked out along with the rest of his friends.

_Line line line_

Jake watched as the police looked around his house for any unusual trap doors or something. They weren't going to find the door those hockey jerks were in. It was almost completely hidden. Jake had made sure of that.

Suddenly, he heard it; a slight thumping noise coming from his secret door. The police heard it, too, and tried to trace the sound. They felt along the wall where they heard the noise, muttering to each other grimly.

Jake's heart froze when someone yelled, "I found a door!" Logan. That stupid smart boy.

All the police and investigators ran over to Logan where Logan was standing. They started talking excitedly when they felt it, too. The police took something out of their pockets ands started to bust the door open.

Jake knew he was in serious trouble when someone managed to busted the door open. It had taken about 7 or 8 minutes, so maybe those hockey heads were dead by now? The smoke _must_ have killed them by now, right?

Jake sighed to himself, defeated, when a officer put handcuffs around his wrists. He knew he was caught. But maybe , just maybe, he had achieved his goal. Killing \Big Time Rush. Whoever had made that thumping noise… he was so pissed. Jake Blanchard didn't get caught. No.

He just hoped that one good thing had come out of this.

**A/N- I'm SO SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO sorry for the super slow update! I don't even have an excuse… I feel so sucky. But hopefully this chapter made up for it? **

**Please review? I promise the next chapter won't take this long to update! Once again, SO SORRY! I can't even express how sorry I am in words…**

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	30. Hospital

_**Chapter 30**_

Kendall was greeted by a bright white light when he woke up. It felt like he'd been sleeping for hours, but was still exhausted. He barely remembered what had happened. He remembered smoke, fire, James, Carlos, and that was it.

The blonde boy groaned and winced when he shifted position. He heard someone gasp, and he tried opening his eyes again. This time, the light wasn't as searing or as painful. He saw a blurry figure standing over him.

As he blinked his eyes more and more, he saw that it was a brunette… Logan. Logan was smiling down at him, worry and relief in his eyes. Kendall wondered what had happened to James and Carlos. Were they alright?

"Kendall! You're awake!" Logan grinned excitedly. Kendall smiled back, his face and his body aching all over.

"What… w-what happened?" Kendall asked weakly. Logan's eyes broke contact with Kendall's green ones, and he looked guilty.

"Jake… that sick bastard. He lit the basement on fire and locked you guys in there. The firefighters found you guys just in time."

Kendall licked his dry lips. "Are… they okay?" It hurt to talk, but he had to ask.

Logan sighed. "James woke up ten minutes ago, but Carlos is still unconscious." Suddenly, Logan's eyes filled with tears and he put his hand on Kendall's shoulder. "A machine's breathing for him, Kendall! A-a _machine!_" Logan broke down, falling onto his knees onto the tile floor.

Kendall almost stopped breathing. Carlos was on life support? And it must be really bad if Logan didn't even bother talking in doctor words. Carlos was practically dead without the machine.

Just like Jo was.

Kendall's breath hitched, and he felt tears in the back of his dry eyes. "Logan, don't cry… he'll be alright. I know he will."

Logan looked up. "Kendall, I'm sorry. Th-this is all my fault. If I-I just noticed that something was wrong, th-this wouldn't have happened."

Kendall shook his head quickly. "Logan, buddy, don't blame yourself for this, alright? Th-this is Jake's fault m-more than anything." Kendall broke into a coughing fit, but Logan seemed to feel less guilty. Logan patted Kendall on the back a few times, his eyes blank.

"We'll b-be a-alright, okay?" Kendall assured Logan weakly, suddenly feeling dizzy and woozy all over again.

Logan sighed. "Alright, I'll believe you on that. But you look tired. I'll leave you to sleep, okay? Hope ya feel better." Before Kendall could respond, Logan walked out and closed the door. Did Logan not want Kendall to see him crying or something? Maybe Logan left quickly just because he was so worried about James and Carlos. Kendall couldn't blame him.

James was awake, but if he was feeling anyhow like Kendall was, then he was better off asleep. Kendall felt like… crap. Closing his eyes, Kendall thought about the past few hours, memories suddenly coming back to him. Getting locked in Jake's basement, the fire, Carlos passing out, _him_ passing out. James had held out the longest.

Kendall wasn't surprised that Carlos was the one on life support. That much smoke was way too much for someone Carlos's size to take in. It was all probably too much for his lungs.

Kendall's brain finally shut down as he fell into a fitful sleep.

_Line line line _

Logan walked sullenly into James's room, where the tall boy was currently inhaling down bottles of water.

James looked up briefly when Logan came in, and smiled weakly. "Smoke can seriously do a lot to you," he stated bluntly, chuckling when Logan raised his eyebrows at him. "I mean, I never thought I'd feel so… dehydrated. Is it because of the smoke?"

Logan shrugged, "I don't know. Probably."

James narrowed his eyes in concern. "Is… is something wrong, Logie?"

Logan sighed. "Nothing." He mumbled quickly. But James saw right through him.

"Logan, we've been best friends since third grade. Just tell me what's wrong. I know when you're lying."

Logan sighed again, his eyes wet. "It's just that… how did I not notice it before? How did I not notice that you guys _weren't_ at a party? I'm s-supposed to be the smart one here, and all I did was get all three of you in a h-hospital!" Logan buried his head into James shoulder, sobbing.

James rubbed Logan's back comfortingly. "Logan… it's not your fault. You did nothing to harm us. You actually saved our lives, Logie."

Logan looked up, sniffling. "I didn't save your lives. If I had gotten there earlier, then-" James put his hand over the younger boy's mouth.

"Logan, don't you dare say that. If you didn't call the police, we'd be _dead_. This isn't your fault, Logan, and it never will be. If anything, you completely saved our butts out there."

After a few moments, Logan calmed down. "I… I guess that's true." He admitted shyly, his face red.

James grinned, slapping Logan on the back. "It's completely true. Now, how's Kendall and Carlos?" He asked cautiously. He didn't really want to know, but he knew he had to know sooner or later.

Logan bit his lip. "Kendall woke up a few minutes ago, and Carlos… he's on li-life support."

James nodded. "I was expecting that. How long does that thing have to be on him?"

"The doctors say it could be a few hours… or…" Logan looked down, not meeting James's eyes. James's heart pounded in worry. What was Logan not telling him?

"Or what?" James pressed gently.

Logan let out a whimper. "Or… he might never wake up."

That burned James more than any amount of fire could.

_Line line line_

Carlos could hear voices talking somewhere in his head. It was really confusing, because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't talk back. And his breathing felt weird, like he wasn't actually breathing but still… was. He couldn't really explain it.

"… he'll be alright?" Carlos heard. It sounded like Logan.

"We're not sure if he can hear us. But if he can, he still can't physically move." The voice sounded like a doctor's, formal and serious.

He heard Logan scoff. "I know _that_. But when will he get better?"

Get better? What was wrong with him? Carlos tried opening his eyes, but he couldn't. He tried doing _something_, anything, but he found that he was paralyzed or something.

Instead of the panic Carlos was expecting to feel, he felt relief and calm wash over him. He was still _alive_, wasn't he? He may not be able to move or anything, but he was still breathing and surviving, right?

Carlos vaguely remembered the fire, and how he passed out in James's arms.

How was James? How was Kendall? Were they okay? Were they experiencing the same thing Carlos was? Carlos felt a little assured that his friends might have been experiencing the same things he was at that very moment.

"We're not sure, sir. But the sooner we get this machine off, the sooner he'll recover." Machine? What machine?

"But what if he can't breathe by himself yet?" Logan sounded worried.

"We can't tell if he will or will not be able to breath without machine. That's a decision you and your friends and family have to make. I'm sorry." Carlos heard the doctor walk out, and felt Logan brush his cheek with his warm hand.

"Hey, Carlos. It's Logan. I don't know if you can hear me or not, but if you can, then you're probably confused. A machine's helping you breathe, buddy. And we don't know if you're strong enough to breath without the machine yet."

"But I know you're a tough little guy. You'll make it through. I'll see ya tomorrow, alright? The hospital's closing for the day, and visiting hours are over. I love you, okay?" Carlos wanted to say something back, _anything_, but nothing came out.

He reluctantly stayed still as he heard Logan walk out the door slowly. A… _machine_ was breathing _for_ him? So he wasn't breathing on his own?

Carlos was scared. Not only because he was alone, but because he was practically dead if it wasn't for a machine. He was practically dead.

**A/N- So… you see how poor Logie feels the guilt and Kendall and James waking up. But Carlos… he's a mystery case, huh? And I don't know if the medical stuff here is accurate… cuz I'm not even CLOSE to a Logan. So cut me some slack, alright? ;)**

**But thanks for putting up with my tedious and slow updates. Thanks a million times for the reviews! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	31. Risk

_**Chapter 31**_

In a few days, Kendall and James were healthy again, and ready to leave the hospital. But as for Carlos… well, nothing really improved _or_ gotten worse. He was still on life support, but the doctors said that he could possibly recover soon.

But as for the accurate amount of time it'd take for Carlos to wake up, the doctors had no idea. It could be 4 hours, they'd said, or 4 years. It was up to Carlos's body to decide when he'd wake up.

All three of the guys took the news differently. Kendall punched a few holes into the walls and broke both his wrists in the process, James stopped caring about his hair and his appearances in general, and Logan sat by Carlos's hospital bed every possible minute, and cried and talked to Carlos. They all wanted Carlos to wake up. But they didn't always get what they wanted, did they? They didn't _want_ any of this to happen, but it happened anyways, right?

Logan wiped the sweat off his forehead as he watched Carlos breath in and out, in and out… but it wasn't his own air. It was some stupid machine's air. Logan and his friends and Carlos's parents were deciding when they should pull the plug. They knew they had to; they just didn't know when.

Honestly, Logan thought they should just pull the plug already. Carlos wasn't going to get any better with this machine. Carlos was a tough little guy, he'd pull through it alright. Carlos's parents didn't even know what to do, with their limited medical knowledge and their stress. James agreed with Logan; he was willing to take the chance. But Kendall… Kendall was the stubborn one. He refused to even _think_ about pulling the plug on Carlos until he got better. Even though Logan tried to persuade Kendall that this was the best Carlos could get, Kendall wouldn't listen.

Kendall was always stubborn. He almost _never_ changed his mind after it was set on something. One of the only times he changed his mind was when he decided to give up (or temporarily cut, as Kendall liked to called it) his dream of becoming a hockey player just so he could fulfill James's dreams of becoming famous. Kendall was a loyal friend; he was just way too stubborn for anyone to handle.

Logan glanced back when he heard the door creaking open slowly. James's head popped in, silently asking for permission. Logan nodded at him, telling him that he could come in. James plopped himself next to the leather chair Logan was sitting in, and sighed.

It was a few minutes before James broke the silence. "Is… is he gonna be alright?" He asked quietly, not wanting to know the answer.

Logan shrugged. "Beats me. There's really nothing we can do until stubborn Kendall gets his head straight, and when Carlos's parents make the final decision." Logan answered honestly. Carlos's parents were going to be the one to tell the doctors what to do because, well, they were the _parents_.

James cleared his throat. "I don't get why _they_ get to make the decision. We're the ones who've been there with Carlos the past year or two, so why should they get to jump right in and make decisions for Carlos's life?"

Logan interrupted James's ramble. "Dude, they're his_ parents_. They gave birth to him, and they raised him for 16 years. If it weren't for them, he wouldn't even be here."

James scoffed bitterly. "Be _where?_ In this hospital, about to die?" Logan flinched at the last word. He knew James was just taking Carlos's news roughly. He was taking all his anger out in his words, and Logan could respect that. It was better than what Kendall had done, punching walls and the occasional nurse that walked by.

"James, don't-"

"No, Logan! I can't just let this go! This is Carlos's life we're talking about! How can you be so calm about this? If they don't wanna take Carlos off, then he's probably gonna be stuck there forever! _Forever!_ He'll never wake up, and he'll grow old and have a beard and white hair and we wouldn't even be able to talk to him and-" A voice interrupted James, and James and Logan looked up in surprise.

"But what _if_ we pulled the plug? What if Carlos died because of that?" Kendall's green eyes narrowed at the menacingly. "We can't take that risk."

Not even bothering how Kendall got there, Logan started contradicting him. "Kendall, if Carlos doesn't get off this machine, he's gonna be stuck there forever, like James said."

Kendall shook his head. "But if we take him off, we're taking a huge risk! What if he dies, Logan? Then it would all be your fault! Would you be able to live with that?"

Logan's eyes filled with tears of anger and frustration. "Kendall, you don't get it! He's not getting better! This is the best condition he'll be for the rest of his life! So if we don't take the change now, when _are_ we?"

"How do _you_ know he's not getting any better, Logan? Carlos is tougher than this. He can get better by himself."

James stood up. "_No one_ gets better by themselves, Kendall! They either pull the plug or it's over!" It hurt the pretty boy to say those things, but he'd been thinking that all along anyways. He was just speaking his mind, even though it hurt.

Kendall sighed angrily. "You guys want to risk Carlos's life? You _want_ him to possibly die?"

Logan let out a sob, starting to stumble out of the room. "I c-can't believe you! You've always told me that a-a life without risks is a l-life unlived! Don't tell me that you've been l-lying all this time!" The shorter boy ran out of the room, and James and Kendall could hear his sobs fading away gradually.

The two older boys left didn't move an inch, they both stared at the floor, not knowing what to think or do. Kendall knew he had hurt Logan, but what Logan had said really got to him. He _always_ told his friends that a life without risks is a life unlived. He wasn't following his own advice. How big of a hypocrite _was_ he?

If Logan, the future doctor, and James, the oldest of them all, both thought Carlos could pull through, then maybe he could. No, he _definitely_ could. Kendall knew what he had to do now.

"James… fine. We'll pull the plug," Kendall saw James's eyes widen in joy and surprise. It usually took longer for Kendall to think about a decision, but the blonde boy seemed more confident about it than ever.

"But remember that it's Carlos's mom and dad's choice, not ours," Kendall added quickly.

James shrugged. "We'll persuade them. Especially with you stubborn attitude."

Kendall rolled his eyes. "Let's go find Logan. I'm sure he's okay."

James nodded, and they quickly went in search off their friend.

_Line line line _

Carlos heard voice arguing somewhere in his haze of blurred white and black.

"It's the best we can do for him, honey." That sounded like someone he knew… his Mami? Could it be his Mami? What was she doing here?

He heard a sigh. "Alright, honey, if you and Carlos's friends here believe this so firmly, then you must be very confident. And I think our boy's a tough little guy, right?" Carlos had heard that word already so many times. _He's a tough little guy… he's tough, he'll pull through it…_

But the problem was, Carlos didn't think he was tough. From all the conversations going on the past few days, Carlos concluded that they all wanted the machine's plug to be pulled off. But Carlos was afraid he _wasn't_ strong enough. What if he died after they pulled the plug?

The thought scared Carlos so much he tried again and again to call out to his family and his friends, do _something_. He didn't want the plug to be pulled. He couldn't pull through.

"Are you guys ready?" A doctor's voice, serious and cautious.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Carlos heard his Papi's voice, deep and confident.

_No! No! Don't pull the plug!_ Carlos wanted to scream that to them so badly, but he couldn't get his mouth to move.

He felt his breath leave him, and for a few seconds, he lay there, not able to breath. He thought of his friends, his family, everyone who loved him… They needed him. He had to be strong for himself and for them. He could do it. _He could do it._ He couldn't die when he was so close to life again. It wouldn't be fair for his Mami, his Papi, or for Kendall, James, Logan...

Suddenly, Carlos knew he was breathing on his own again.

**A/N- I feel this story is moving too fast… but it's already way longer than my other stories… so I'm proud of it! But I'm sad to say that this story is… *sniffles*… ending soon. I don't know when, but there's probably a few chapters left in this story! I'm excited… but so sad to be leaving this story and all the awesome support it gets! **

**Thank you for your reviews! I love them like I do every time! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes, **

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	32. So Bad

_**Chapter 32**_

James stared at the unmoving figure on the hospital bed, his eyes wide open and his mouth gaping. Did Carlos just _breathe_, or was it just his imagination? But he saw Carlos's chest rise and fall again slowly, and he knew he wasn't imagining it.

Carlos was alive. He was breathing on his own again.

Those first few seconds after the doctors had pulled the machine, James had thought Carlos didn't make it. For a few seconds, Carlos didn't react in any way. Those were the worst few seconds of his life.

"He's alive…" Logan breathed out, his voice choked by tears. Kendall grabbed Logan's shoulders and held him tightly, tears threatening to fall out of his own eyes James smiled, watching as Carlos started twitching and moving. Carlos was waking up. Carlos was waking up.

When Carlos's eyes opened, James made a vow to not ever let those brown orbs close for any other reason than sleeping or resting or blinking. He would protect Carlos, because he knew he couldn't suffer the pain of almost losing him again.

"Carlos!" Carlos's mother covered the Latino boy in kisses, and Carlos made a disgusted face. His eyes glanced at every single person in the room. He looked at them so deeply James thought Carlos could see into his soul.

"Carlos, buddy, we missed you," Kendall said, half hugging Carlos. Carlos smiled, his face a little pained yet happy at the same time.

"I knew you could do it, Carlos," Logan whispered, wiping his eyes on his sleeves. Carlos's concerned face seemed to tell Logan to stop crying. So Logan did.

After Carlos's parents said their warm "hellos' to Carlos, Kendall politely asked them to leave the room for a second. Now, it was only James, Kendall, Logan, and Carlos in the room.

"Wh…what's gonna happen to J-Jake?" Carlos asked quietly, breaking the silence. Logan sighed, biting his lip.

"Carlos, the police told me they'd be on the lookout for him. He somehow escaped his house and ran somewhere else. Who knows where he is by now?"

Carlos sniffled and nodded reluctantly. He knew he was going to have nightmares about Jake for a long time. But he knew he had his friends there to protect him. They would never give up on him, right? They didn't give up on him when the basement caught on fire; they wouldn't give up on him _ever_. Carlos was sure of that.

James seemed to have read his mind. "Hey, don't worry about him, alright? We'll always be there to protect you, alright?" James wrapped an arm around Carlos's shoulders. Carlos nodded, looking up at his three friends.

"You guys are the best friends ever," Carlos mumbled, snuggling his face into James's chest. He felt the steady beat of James's heart, and that sound comforted him. James was okay. Kendall was okay. Logan was okay. _He_ was okay.

"Only the best for the best, right?" Logan said sheepishly, blushing at his cheesy words. But Carlos reached up and pulled him into a huge hug, and soon, the other two boys joined in.

The Big Time Rush boys were finally back.

_Line line line _

Jake Blanchard peered around the corner of a bakery, eyeing a teenage boy. _Four_ of them, actually. He had to admit, he was pretty good at this hiding and spying kind of thing. The police didn't even have a clue where he was, and Big Time Rush probably didn't even think about him anymore. Oh, he was good.

He wanted to kick those little smug faces so badly when some girls came up to them and asked for autographs. Jake watched those dreamy faces enviously. All his life, he wanted girls to look at _him_ like that. He wanted people to admire him. And he was about to get his big chance, but Big Time Rush had to come and ruin everything for him.

Gustavo had been the only person to even accept Jake into any kind of music and fame industry. Jake had long since given up on the other ones, since they all thought he wasn't fit for the rush and adrenaline of fame. How wrong they would've been.

Whenever he saw Kendall, he wanted to kill him for thinking up such a crazy idea. Taking his three best friends, who had _never_ sang before in their _lives_ to LA? What was he thinking? It felt like Kendall was purposefully ruining Jake's dream, even though they hadn't even known each other back then. Whenever he saw James, he wanted to kill him for having the same dream he did in the first place. Whenever he saw Logan, he wanted to kill him for being so _smart_ all the time. He was failing every single time because Logan was always so cautious and aware of what was happening around him. Whenever Jake saw Carlos, he wanted to kill him for being so lucky for having friends who would give up anything for him. If he didn't, he'd be long gone by now.

Jake watched angrily as Kendall gave one of the girls a peck on the cheek, and narrowed his eyes when James gave the other one a flirtatious smile. The two girls were probably about to faint. Jake longed for that feeling of admiration and fame. He wanted it so bad, he would do almost anything of it.

It had been about a month since he'd locked Kendall, James, and Carlos in his basement. They'd survived, and Jake had almost fainted with anger when he heard the news. But now, instead of being famous, he was infamous. Everyone in the West probably knew about how cruel he was, locking three _innocent _boys down in a basement and lighting it one fire. Jake didn't care.

Big Time Rush. The name itself had jolts of anger running through his body Those four stupid boys… he wanted to hate them, but his jealousy and envy overwhelmed the hatred. He _wanted_ to be them so _bad_. He couldn't even describe the feeling.

Jake sighed. He hated how things turned out. He was so close, and yet he was still so far away from getting that fame he wanted. He quickly scurried away when the boys waved goodbye to the girls and started walking his way. How he hated those boys.

"Well, that was neat," Jake heard the unmistakable voice of Logan.

He heard someone laugh. "You think everything is neat." Kendall. Ugh. Why did all their voices have to be so unmistakable?

"Hey, wanna get some burgers?" Jake heard Carlos's quiet voice. The one thing Jake got from that burning of the basement thing was that he pretty much ruined his voice. It would take a lot of months to heal. Carlos couldn't really attend concerts or sing anywhere until his voice healed. That was the only good thing that came out of this chaos Jake had gotten himself into.

"Whatever you want, buddy," Jake saw James wrap an arm around Carlos. The four boys called for a taxi and left before Jake could even blink his eye.

Jake leaned against the brick wall and sighed. What had become of him? He was supposed to be the popular and nice one. He was always that star in high school, but now all he was was a wanted criminal who had nothing going for him. How quickly things had gone downhill for him.

How did everything get so horrible so quickly?

**A/N- Shoot me. Just shoot me now. I don't even have an excuse. I understand if some, or ALL of you guys are pissed off at me right now. Ugh… I take so long to update and I give you some crappy chapter… sigh. **

**You have NO idea (no pun intended) how sorry I am… I don't know what's wrong with me. Will it help to say that I had spring break this week? I guess not… yeah, I'm glad you guys don't know where I live. I'm REALLY sorry. I wish I had Carlos's puppy eyes. **

**Well, I'm REALLY sorry. I don't know what else to say. **

**Peace, Love, and Sorry?**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	33. We'll Be Alright

_**Chapter 33**_

"James? James?" James groaned as someone's voice pulled him out of his beauty sleep. He rubbed his eyes, annoyed at whoever was bothering him.

"James? Are… are you awake?" James opened his eyes. The voice sounded so scared, James felt guilty for being annoyed at them.

"Yeah… Carlos? Is that you?" James couldn't see anything in the dark. In a few seconds, though, his eyes adjusted to the dark, and he saw Carlos's small figure trembling next to his bed. James reluctantly sat up.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Carlos sniffled, not even waiting for James to invite him into his bed. He pushed his face into James's chest. James rubbed Carlos's back in confusion. What was wrong with Carlos?

"I… I had a b-bad dream." Carlos whimpered, grabbing on to James tightly.

James ruffled Carlos's ink black hair. "Oh, it's alright, buddy. You wanna talk about it?" He saw Carlos hesitate for a moment, and then pull his face away from James's chest.

"I… It was about J-Jake. H-he came into our bedr-room and k-killed all of y-you," Carlos sniffled, tears spilling out of his eyes. James sighed in sympathy. Carlos was still having post traumatic stress, or whatever it was Logan told them about. He was still scared of Jake, and he was seriously becoming a little paranoid, too.

"Buddy, it's just a dream, alright? We'll always be there to protect you. We've been telling you that so many times. You're safe, alright?" Carlos nodded, letting out small sobs.

Carlos's noise must've woken the other two, too, because James saw Kendall and Logan come in. Carlos almost shrieked in fear when the two figures came into the room.

"James! It's h-him!" He cried, his face scared.

Kendall knelt down and patted Carlos's knee. "It's okay, bud, it's just me and Logan. There's nothing to worry about, okay?" Carlos started to calm down after hearing Kendall's gentle voice.

"Carlos, go back to sleep, alright? We'll be right here." Logan said.

Carlos wrapped his arms around James's waist, breathing in James's Cuda spray. "Y-you… you guys p-promise?" He asked in a pitiful voice.

James ruffled Carlos's hair and smiled, even though he knew Carlos couldn't see him in the dark. "Of course, buddy. We all promise."

Soon, James could feel the in and out of Carlos's breathing against his chest. He turned to Kendall and Logan, who were staring at Carlos sadly. "When is he going to get over what happened?"

Logan shrugged. "It's different for everyone. I… I guess it depends on who you were before it happened. If you were tough, you'll get over a traumatic experience quickly. But it your not… it might take a long time."

Kendall sighed. "But Carlos is a pretty tough guy."

"Yeah, but you know he's scared easily by people who beat him. It probably won't be long before he's okay again. Don't worry, alright? Like you said, Kendall, he's tough. I don't know why it's taking him so long to get over this." Logan said.

"It's probably the fact that we were there with him, and w-we couldn't really h-help him. Maybe he's scared because we were so useless when that fire…" James looked down, not wanting to say anymore. Maybe he should've punched Jake when he could. He should've _killed_ him…

James was shook out of his thoughts when Kendall put his hand on his shoulder. "This isn't our fault, James. We did the best we could. You couldn't have hurt Jake; he would've hurt us even more. You did what you could, buddy."

James could never understand how Kendall could read his mind. He always seemed to know what each of them were thinking. James wished he could do that. He wished he could see what Kendall and Logan were thinking.

"I-I know, Kendall… but sometimes that just d-d-doesn't seem like enough." James flinched when Carlos suddenly stirred. The there immediately quieted down.

James felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and saw that Kendall had also placed a hand on Logan's shoulder. "Hey. We're gonna get through this. We're safe. Jake's not gonna come back. We'll be alright." Kendall sounded so confident that James was almost 100 percent convinced. Logan looked a little bit more assured.

"Has Jake come back yet?" Kendall demanded, shaking both James and Logan. The two boys shook their heads. "Then what tells you he's ever _gonna _come back? The police already told Bitters to keep a watch on Jake, and Bitters is gonna do it. _Plus_, there are security cameras _everywhere_. How are we gonna get taken again?"

James had to admit that Kendall's logic _did_ comfort him. A lot. "Thanks, Kendall."

Logan nodded. "Yeah, thanks." Kendall just grinned back at them, his green eyes flickering to look at Carlos's sleeping form.

They were going to be alright.

_Line line line_

Carlos woke up. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Kendall and Logan conked out on the floor of his and James's bedroom. Then, he remembered being in James's arms, and quickly looked up. James was asleep, too.

Carlos quietly removed himself from James's protective grasp, and, careful not to step on any of his friends, he quickly left the room.

He stared out at the Palm Woods pool watching as the Jennifers pushed the nerd with red glasses and red hair into the pool. He watched as Tyler hid inside a garbage can, and Camille slapping Buddha Bob in the face.

Everything was normal. Everything was normal. Nothing bad was going to happen. Carlos tried to convince himself of that fact. There were so many people who would protect him. No one could hurt him now, could they? And anyways, the door was locked. He was safe. He was safe.

He kept on thinking everything twice, but that was the only way he'd convince himself of it. Nothing could harm him. Nothing.

He remembered the day Jake took him. Jake had made him say all those bad things about Kendall. Yet, Kendall had forgiven him again. When he thought everything would turn out wrong, it had taken a sharp turn to the "right" side of life.

When him and Kendall and James were trapped in the basement of Jake's "house", he'd thought his life was over. But look at them now. They were all fine, other than a few scars from the burns. But things had turned out okay for them.

But Carlos couldn't help still being a little scared. He knew he'd be having James checking under his bed again for something unknown to even himself. He knew he'd still cry and have nightmares. But in the inside, he knew he was going to be okay.

He went through all this, and turned out fine. He could do it again if something like that _ever_ happened again, right? Right. Right.

Carlos sighed as he turned away from the window. He had such great friends. They'd been there for him no matter what. They'd been strong for him, even though he knew they were still probably a little freaked too, especially Logan. But they were being strong for him. And Carlos loved them for that.

They'd never forget about what had happened with Jake, but Carlos knew that wound in their heart was going to at least heal up a little. They were going to be okay. They were. As long as they stuck together, nothing could hurt them. Nothing.

Carlos sunk into the couch, staring at the blank TV screen. He smiled.

They were really going to be okay. Everything was going to be back to normal again. Jake was gone, and he'd never hurt them again. And even though it was hard _now_, it wouldn't be in a couple of weeks. As long as he made it through this rough patch, he was sure to be better before he even knew it.

Because even through all this chaos and cruelty and pain and fear, Carlos had his friends. And he'd realized that that was what had helped them through all the tough times. Their friendship had made them all okay.

He loved his friends. His friends had been there for him his whole life, almost. He loved them more than anything in the world.

Because really, his friends were his sunshine when clouds were gray.

**A/N- That's kinda the last chapter, folks. I'm sorry for that abrupt ending, but that's really kind it. But there's gonna be an epilogue, but it's not gonna include the boys. It's gonna be kinda dark, so watch out. **

**But thank you for all the awesome support for this story. Thank you for ALL the reviewers. You guys really mean a lot to me and kept me going. I love you guys so much. **

**Friends are awesome. Always remember that. You could say it was the moral of this story. Treasure your friend, people, cuz they'll be there for you when you're in trouble. If they aren't, they aren't your friends. **

**Peace, Love, and Friends,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


	34. Envy

_**Chapter 34**_

"Stupid Big Time Rush! Stupid Kendall, stupid James, stupid Logan, stupid Carlos!" Jake pounded his face on the picture of the smiling band on the front cover of the newspaper. Why did they have to be_ everywhere?_

Every time Jake saw a girl fawning over them, his heart throbbed with jealousy and envy. Every day he asked himself, "Why couldn't I be like that?" Every day he regretted what he had done more and more. What he had done to the poor boys seemed a little mean now, even to himself. He really shouldn't have done that… now his chances of becoming famous were gone.

Well, maybe he could become _infamous_… Jake shook his head. He committed the crime. In the end, _he _was the one who caused the dead end to his dreams of fame. Jake sighed, pushing his hand through his dark hair. He pushed open the front door, walking out into the wind.

Just as he was crossing the street into the supermarket, the makeup on his face disguising him as a criminal, he heard a group of pretty girls talking quietly. He leaned in to listen.

"Did you hear about that guy who kidnapped Big Time Rush?" One girl asked.

"Oh my gosh, yeah! They had to stay in a hospital!"

"What stupid guy would do something like that? He's such a jerk."

"Well, not someone _I _would date!"

Jake closed his eyes and turned away, walking into the store. He'd ruined his chances of becoming famous. He'd shattered his life dream just because he'd made some stupid mistake. Just because he let the envy take him over. Stupid, stupid him…

Jake suddenly dropped his bag and ran. He ran and ran until he found himself back at the Palm Woods, sprinting up the stairs into his apartment room. He hadn't been there for so long, since he was out in the hiding all the time.

Even before he knew it, he'd gotten out a stool and some rope. He placed the stool under the ceiling fan in his room.

Jake let out a choked sob, kneeling onto the ground. Why did this happen to him? All he wanted was to be famous; all he wanted was to be loved by girls around the world… But now it was hopeless. He'd be nothing but a criminal to the pretty girls everywhere.

He was so _stupid_, so _stupid…_ Jake kneeled on the ground, sobbing and sobbing. He couldn't seem to stop. He stood up, silent tears streaming down his face, and wrapped the rope around the ceiling fan. He then tied a little hole in the rope, and placed his neck inside of it.

"I'm sorry…. I'm sorry, Kendall, James, Logan, Carlos. I'm so stupid."

And then Jake Blanchard, "Guitar Dude", kicked the stool away.

Then, he saw nothing. Nothing at all.

**A/N- Yeah… he killed himself, hung himself, if you couldn't tell. I'm sorry… I have no experience with suicide, so I don't know how it goes…Which is a good thing, I guess… ;)**

**So, what do you guys think? It's the end of the story! I'm SO thankful for all you guys who reviewed and supported this story. Peace out, everyone! I am forever grateful to you! **

**Peace, Love, and Giraffes,**

**Anonymous Skrtle **


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